





























• • 





/ 


V 


HE Board of Water Supply herewith 



submits the complete report of George 
W. Fuller, Esq., relative to a permanent 
water supply for the City of Mount Vernon. 

It is the desire of our board that the citi¬ 
zens of Mount Vernon be fully informed on 
this important matter, which so vitally con¬ 
cerns the health, prosperity and growth of 
our city, pending the recommendations to be 
made by us ; so that intelligent action may 
be taken when the final plans are submitted 
to a vote of the people. 


Respectfully, 

The Board of Water Supply. 

John W. Stevens, President , 

Dr. W. H. Purdy, Secretary , 
Benjamin J. Cullen, Treasurer. 




^ » 






REPORT OF 

GEORGE W. FULLER 


CONSULTING ENGINEER 
170 BROADWAY 


New York City, September 13, 1911. 

To the Board of Water Supply, 

Mount Vernon, N. Y. 

Gentlemen : 

In compliance with the Resolution of the Common Council, 
adopted on March 7, 1911, we present the following report on the 
question of an adequate public water supply for the City of 
Mount Vernon, N. Y. The scope of the investigations and advice 
contained in this report is detailed in the Resolution, as follows: 

“i). As to the economical aspects and suitability of obtaining water 
from the existing sources of the New York Inter Urban Water Company, 
supplemented by additional storage at some suitable point east of the City. 

“2). As to the economical aspects and suitability of obtaining a 
water supply from New York City. 

“3). As to the economical aspects and the suitability of a supply of 
well water which may be obtained from the Hutchinson creek valley, sup¬ 
plemented at times by water from New York City. 

“4). As to the desirability of purchasing the entire plant of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Company, including its sources of supply at 
Pelham and Mamaroneck and the existing pipe line from the latter, as 
well as the distribution system in Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye, etc. 

“5). As to the relative advantages and disadvantages of a municipal¬ 
ly-owned water works system as compared with continuing the private 
ownership of the water works for Mount Vernon. 

“6). To compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of the 
propositions mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, and to advise as to the 
best step for the city to take in getting a suitable water supply as to quality 
and quantity, and with the special object of seeing which is the cheapest 
source of a reliable and safe supply at all seasons of the year under 
suitable pressure, into the piping system within the limits of the City of 
Mount Vernon. 

“And also to prepare a design and estimates of cost for a complete 
new distributing system in the City of Mount Vernon to serve adequately 
the needs of the present time and in the early future; and to estimate 
the cost of laying additional pipes to reinforce the existing piping system. 
Also to estimate what depreciation is fairly allowable for the present 
piping system due to age, wear and tear, and to estimate the value of the 
present piping system to the city by subtracting from the estimated cost 
of a proposed new system both the item of depreciation on the old system, 
as well as the expense of additional pipes to bring it up to the service 
afforded by the proposed new system.” 

Since the above Resolution was passed and the engineering 
work was undertaken in co-operation with the Committee on 


3 



Water Supply of the Board of Aldermen, an Act was passed 
by the Legislature at Albany and approved on May 10, 1911, 
creating a Board of Water Supply for the City of Mount Ver¬ 
non. This Board practically succeeded the Water Committee 
of the Board of Aldermen, although in the development of this 
proposition we have received the co-operation and assistance of 
the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen and the new Board of Water 
Supply. 

Since this work was undertaken, the partnership agreement 
of Hering & Fuller has terminated and the work has been com¬ 
pleted by Mr. Fuller and his new partners, in accordance with 
the notice which was sent to you by Hering & Fuller under date 
of June 21, 1911. 

Under date of May 8, 1911, a Resolution was adopted by 
the Common Council, directing the engineers to prepare plans 
and specifications and to proceed to take bids on the construc¬ 
tion of four wells and appurtenances on city property in the 
vicinity of Warwick avenue. Reference is made in this report 
to certain experiences in the development of these wells. Full 
details will be embodied in a later report. 

GENERAL STATEMENT OF PROBLEM. 

The chief reason for making this investigation was the 
shortage of water as supplied to Mount Vernon by the New 
York Inter Urban Water Company during the late summer and 
autumn of 1910. This shortage was first in evidence on or about 
July 19, when the water ceased to flow over the dam in the 
Mamaroneck river, adjoining the pumping station. Conditions 
became acute in September. The deficiency in supply during 
October and portions of September and November was great, 
resulting in much inconvenience and discomfort. 

Beginning on or about September 20, 1910, some relief was 
obtained with the water furnished by the City of New York 
from the Croton supply through several small connections between 
the piping system of the City of New York and that of the water 
company of Mount Vernon. This supply, however, for some 
three months or more did not amount to more than 45 million 
gallons in the aggregate. The pressure was very low, especially 
in the higher districts. The water from the City of New York 
was furnished purely as a matter of accommodation and through 
no obligation of New York to take care of the needs of its neigh¬ 
bors. It was on or about December 26, 1910, when the winter 
rains first allowed the pumps of the Inter Urban Water Company 
to operate at full capacity with water regularly flowing over the 
dam in the Mamaroneck river. Some water was also obtainable 
from the Tarry town supply. 

In March, 1911, it became apparent that the winter rainfall 
conditions on the Croton watershed had been such that there was 
small or no likelihood of being able to obtain water in Mount 
Vernon from the City of New York. In fact, there is no like- 


4 


lihood of much, if any, water being obtained from the City of 
New York until the Catskill supply is delivered into Croton lake, 
which, it is expected, will be accomplished during the latter part 
of 1913. 

The contract of the Inter Urban Water Company with the 
City of Mount Vernon expired in December, 1908. In the 
absence of any competition the Company has continued to supply 
about three million gallons of water daily to Mount Vernon, 
Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye Neck and Pelham Heights. About 
85 per cent, of the supply is said to be delivered to Mount Ver¬ 
non. This city, with a population of about 30,000 is therefore 
supplied, according to these data, with water to the extent of 
about 85 gallons per inhabitant on an average. 

The supply of the New York Inter Urban Water Company 
is obtained principally from the Mamaroneck river above the vil¬ 
lage of Mamaroneck, where the drainage area of the watershed is 
approximately 15 square miles. Only about 12 million gallons of 
water are stored by the diversion dam adjacent to the pumping 
station. 

Another and older supply of this Company is at Pelhamville 
on Hutchinson creek, near the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Here 
are three open sand filters, which may receive water either from 
Hutchinson creek or Tom Payne creek. The former at this 
point as a total drainage area of about 5.5 square miles, but the 
upper 3.4 square miles of this are utilized by the storage reser¬ 
voirs of the New Rochelle Water Company. 

On Tom Payne creek, in New Rochelle, there are two stor¬ 
age reservoirs, the drainage area of which is about 1.56 square 
miles, and the capacity of which is about 90 million gallons. 

There is also a 16-inch pipe connection extending north from 
Mount Vernon to the pipe lines of the Consolidated Water Com¬ 
pany, which derives its supply from Pocantico river. 

Accompanying this report is a location map (Sheet No. 1), 
on which has been sketched as a matter of convenience for refer¬ 
ence the location of the principal towns and the sources of water 
supply referred to in this report. Attention is here called to the 
fact that available resources of surface water supply in the vicinity 
of Mount Vernon are from streams small in drainage area and 
provided at present with comparatively little storage capacities 
in those localities from which water is now derived for Mount 
Vernon. Consequently a new water supply from surface sources 
means either considerable expense for investment in storage reser¬ 
voirs, or expensive conduits to distant sources, the cost of which 
will be quite high, owing to the rough and rocky character of the 
country. 

In the absence of any contract with the City of Mount Ver¬ 
non, the New York Inter Urban Water Company is unable or 
unwilling to provide funds with which to develop necessary stor¬ 
age upon the Mamaroneck river or some other suitable sources 
of an increased supply. 

The City of Mount Vernon, by virtue of its unusual trans- 


5 


portation facilities and location adjoining the northern limits of 
the greater city of New York, has grown rapidly in recent years. 
This growth has tended to aggravate the problem of its public 
water supply. In considering the facts surrounding this water 
works property and the manner in which it has become outgrown 
with respect to the demands made upon it, it is necessary to bear 
in mind the growth of the population of Mount Vernon, as fol¬ 
lows : 

TABLE 1. 

Population of Mount Vernon — U. S. Census. 

1880. 4,586 

1890.10,830 

1900.21,228 

1910.30,919 

The proposition at hand, therefore, is an important and 
serious one with respect to providing for reasonable require¬ 
ments both as to the present and also the future needs of the 
city as to water supply. 

At the conclusion of this report there is given a full sum¬ 
mary of our investigations, with recommendations in the premises. 
Intermediate pages are devoted to a record and discussion of the 
data which we have obtained from our personal inspection on the 
ground and also the data which we have obtained from the rec¬ 
ords supplied to us by the city officials of Mount Vernon and the 
officers of the New York Inter Urban Water Co. 

Attached to the report is also a map (Sheet No. 2), showing 
the distributing pipe system as it now exists in the city of Mount 
Vernon; also a map (Sheet No. 3), showing a new design which 
we have prepared for a water distributing system of new pipes 
to serve the needs of the city for the present and in the early 
future; and maps (Sheets Nos. 4, 5 and 6), showing the loca¬ 
tion and size of water pipes owned by the New York Inter Urban 
Water Co. in Pelham, Harrison and Mamaroneck and Rye Neck, 
respectively. Sheets Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6 have been prepared from 
data furnished by the New York Inter Urban Water Co. after 
checking the same on the ground with our own inspectors. Sheet 
No. 7 shows a profile for a pipe line from Byram river to Mamar¬ 
oneck pumping station, according to a recent survey made by us. 

HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WATER SUPPLY 
OF MOUNT VERNON. 

The first public water supply for the City of Mount Vernon 
was from driven wells, and was installed in 1884 by the Mount 
Vernon Water Co. In 1885 the New York & Mount Vernon 
Water Co. was incorporated, and their system was put in opera¬ 
tion in July, 1886. This company was succeeded in 1891 by the 
New York City Suburban Water Co., and that company in turn 
by the New York Suburban Water Co. in 1895 through foreclos¬ 
ure sale. 'The New York Inter Urban Water Co., the present 
company, became the owners in 1901. 


6 






Hutchinson creek furnished the entire supply from 1886 
to 1892. At that date, owing to the storage and diversion 
by the New Rochelle Water Co. of water from Hutchin¬ 
son creek above the intake of the New York & Suburban Water 
Co., the latter company was forced to look for an additional 
supply. This supply was secured by purchasing and enlarging 
the Mahlstedt ice pond on Tom Payne creek in the City of New 
Rochelle. The water from the reservoir thus formed was con¬ 
veyed over the ridge lying between the reservoir and Hutchinson 
creek by a 12-inch pipe siphon and a line of 16 and 18-inch 
pipe into the Hutchinson creek supply at the pumping station. 
Both of these supplies were pumped from what is known as the 
Pelhamville reservoir at Hutchinson creek into the city distribu¬ 
tion system and into the standpipe located at Third and Fulton 
streets. 

On August 1, 1894, an uncovered sand filter plant was put 
into operation at the Pelhamville site. This filter plant, of a 
design similar to the one at Lawrence, Mass., consists of about 
1.25 acres of filters in three units and was used in purifying the 
water from both the Hutchinson and Tom Payne creeks. It 
is said to be the second plant of its kind in the United States. 

With the growth of Mount Vernon, the supply obtained from 
these two sources was found to be inadequate, and in 1903 and 
1904 a 16-inch pipe line was built to connect with the pumping 
station, filter plant, etc., at Mamaroneck river, which is at present 
the principal source of supply. 

In 1907 the New York Inter Urban Water Co., desiring 
a distribution reservoir on the system to supplement the stand¬ 
pipe at Third and Fulton streets, bought some six or seven acres 
of land at a high point in Yonkers for this purpose. It is stated 
by the Water Company that owing to legislation passed that year 
by the City of Yonkers, it became impossible for them to obtain 
rights of way for a pipe line from this site to Mount Vernon, 
and they were forced to give up the project. 

In 1907-08 the Water Company built a 16-inch pipe line 
from Mount Vernon to connect with the line from the Metz 
reservoir owned by the Consolidated Water Company of Su¬ 
burban, N. Y. This was the last addition of any moment made 
to the Mount Vernon supply. 

From the foregoing it is seen that the present supply is from 
four sources. The main supply is pumped from Mamaroneck 
river. Two others, from Hutchinson creek and Tom Payne creek, 
are pumped at Pelhamville. The fourth is an emergency gravity 
supply from the direction of Tarrytown. In addition to these, 
there are connections with the New York water supply at differ¬ 
ent places which have been used in times of emergency. 

Distribution System. The distribution system, that is, the 
piping layout within the boundaries of Mount Vernon, and 
excluding the larger main lines running from the various sources 
of supply, consists of about 61 miles of cast-iron pipe of sizes 
from 4 inches to 16 inches in diameter, a steel standpipe at the 


7 


corner of Third and Fulton streets, 797 gate valves of various 
sizes, 633 hydrants, 4,735 meters, and 5,419 service connections. 
The first pipes in the system were laid in 1884, and on July 1, 
1886, the piping system was 10.7 miles in length. This has been 
gradually added to each year from 1886 to the present date, the 
average age of the entire system now being about 15 years. The 
main supply line is a 16-inch cast-iron pipe line which brings 
water from both the Mamaroneck and Pelhamville supplies and 
extends to the standpipe. 

The water supplying that portion of the city south of the 
N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. is distributed by pipes connecting with 
the standpipe and also by direct connection with the pumping 
mains. There is a small proportion of 16-inch and 12-inch mains; 
most of the pipe, however, being 6-inch and 4-inch in diameter. 

That portion of the city north of the railroad is connected 
to the system south of the railroad by a 10-inch pipe on Columbus 
avenue, an 8-inch pipe on Park avenue, a 12-inch pipe on Fourth 
avenue and a 6-inch pipe on Fourteenth avenue. There is also 
a 10-inch line on Lincoln avenue, which is connected directly to 
the 16-inch line from Mamaroneck above the point where that 
line reaches the Pelhamville plant. In addition to the above, there 
is a 10-inch line on Fourth avenue which connects with the 16-inch 
supply line from Tarrytown. The following is a table of various 
sizes of water pipe in the Mount Vernon distributing system: 


TABLE 2. 


Length of Different Sizes of Pipe in the Distribution System 
Mount Vernon. 

Per Cent. 

Sizes. 

Length. 

of Whole. 

4-inch 

52,980' 

16.42 

6 -inch 

204,421' 

63.50 

8 -inch 

17,048' 

5.30 

10 -inch 

38,121' 

11.82 

12 -inch 

2,439' 

0.76 

16-inch 

7,090' 

2.20 

Totals, 

322,099' 

100.00 


In general, the pipe system is well laid out for works of its 
age. The chief faults are in having too few cross connections 
and too many long lines of small pipe. A larger proportion of 
8 and 12-inch pipe, especially in the business district, would also 
be preferable. 

Pelhamville Plant. This plant is located on Hutchinson 
creek just north of the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. tracks, about 
one-half mile east of the Columbus avenue railroad station. It 
includes a reservoir, with a capacity of 11 million gallons, on 
Hutchinson creek, formed by an earth dam about 600 feet long 
with a 24-foot spillway at elevation 27.43. The elevation of the 
top of the dam is 31. On the downstream side of the dam are 


8 




three sand filter beds, having a total area of about 52,000 square 
feet. Just inside of the sand filter beds is a circular masonry 
suction well about 10 feet in diameter and 12 feet deep. On the 
west side of the filter is located the brick pumping station, con¬ 
taining one 3-million gallon compound condensing duplex Dean 
pump and one Worthington 4.5-million gallon compound duplex 
pump. The Dean pump was installed in 1886 and the Worth¬ 
ington pump in 1896. The pumping station also contains two 
135-horsepower boilers, which are connected with a new steel 
stack 42 inches in diameter and 100 feet high, standing on brick 
foundations. There is also a masonry receiving well about 10 
by 6 by 6 feet, from which the water from Tom Payne creek 
is discharged over a cascade to the filter beds. 

The water from Hutchinson reservoir passes on to the filter 
beds and from them into the suction well and thence to the 
pumps. The water from Tom Payne creek may pass either from 
the cascade to the filters, or into the reservoir and thence on to 
the filters with the Hutchinson creek water. The pumpage at 
this plant is not continuous, as the supply is only used as an 
auxiliary to the Mamaroneck supply. As now arranged, only 
one of the pumps in the station can be used at a time. 

Tom Payne Creek. This supply flows into a small reservoir 
called the Lester reservoir, having a capacity of about 5 million 
gallons, thence through a 36-inch pipe to a reservoir called the 
Mahlstedt reservoir, which has a capacity of about 85 million 
gallons. The Lester reservoir is entirely in excavation and the 
sides are paved. The Mahlstedt reservoir is about one-half in 
cut and one-half in embankment. It has been excavated so as 
to leave no shallow spots and the sides are practically all paved. 
The waier from this reservoir, as before mentioned, flows to 
Pelhamville either to the reservoir or filters. The watershed of 
Tom Payne creek is about 1.56 square miles in extent. 

Mamaroneck Supply. This supply is taken from a reservoir 
on the Mamaroneck river about 1.5 miles north of the N. Y., N. 
H. & H. R R. at Mamaroneck. The reservoir is formed by a 
dam across the river some 200 feet in length and with a 90-foot 
spillway. The dam is a timber crib structure, stone-filled and 
with plank facing and apron. The crest of the spillway is at 
elevation 45.78. The reservoir has a capacity of approximately 
12 million gallons. From the reservoir the water is taken through 
a 12-inch cast-iron pipe into a concrete settling basin of about 
650,000 gallons capacity. This tank is 115 feet long, 65 feet wide, 
12 feet deep, and uncovered. Before passing through the basin 
the water is treated with sulphate of alumina. From the settling 
tank the water passes through a 20-inch cast-iron pipe to a cir¬ 
cular masonry suction well. By-passes are provided so that the 
water may be taken directly to the suction well from the settling 
basin or reservoir. The water is taken from the suction well 
by either or both of the two 3.25-million gallon Wetherill pumps 
and thence through the four 8-foot by 25-foot pressure filters to 
the 16-inch force main. The pumping station is of uncoursed 


9 


stone masonry with red Spanish tile roof. A small laboratory 
is maintained in the station and daily analyses of the raw water 
and effluent from the pressure filters are made. 

Tarry town Supply. This supply is from a distributing res¬ 
ervoir which is supplied by pumps taking water from Pocantico 
lake, and is conveyed to Mount Vernon through a 16-inch pipe 
line about 15 miles in length. About 23,800 feet of this line 
belong to the Inter Urban Water Company, the remainder being 
owned by the Consolidated Water Company of Suburban, N. Y. 
On ordinary occasions this supply is capable of delivering two 
million gallons a day to Mount Vernon, but at exceedingly dry 
times, such as last summer, the entire supply from this source 
is used by Tarrytown, Irving, Ardsley, and various other places 
above Mount Vernon, so that this source cannot be depended 
upon for satisfactory service during an extended drought. 

New York City Supply. There are three emergency con¬ 
nections with New York City water supply, as follows: 

One at the corner of 242d street and Carpenter avenue 
through a 4-inch Gem meter. 

One at the corner of 243d street and Carpenter avenue 
through a 6-inch Gem meter. 

One at Boston road, East Chester, through a 6-inch Crown 
meter. 

PRESENT AND FUTURE WATER REQUIREMENTS 
OF MOUNT VERNON. 

The City of Mount Vernon occupies an area of about 2,500 
acres and in 1910 it had a population of 30,919 according to the 
U. S. Census. We have made a number of estimates as to the 
future growth of the city, taking into account the local condi¬ 
tions, present and prospective, so far as we are able so to do. 
Mount Vernon is essentially a high-class residential district and 
undoubtedly it will continue as such. Consequently the density 
of population will be less rather than more than that of manu¬ 
facturing towns. The railroad facilities in Mount Vernon are 
exceptionally good and with the opening of the Boston & West¬ 
chester railroad they will be even better than at present. 

It is also well to take into account the fact that the trans¬ 
portation facilities generally throughout the metropolitan district 
have recently improved and are likely to continue so to do to a 
considerable extent in the future. 

Unless manufacturing establishments or an unusually large 
proportion of apartment houses for a suburban community should 
become established in Mount Vernon, it does not seem likely 
to us that the population should become more dense within the 
present area of city limits, than about 30 persons per acre on 
an average. This would give an ultimate growth to the present 
city of Mount Vernon equal to a total population in round num¬ 
bers of 75,000 people. 

We have approached the matter in another way by preparing 


10 


curves showing the rate of growth of other cities more or less 
similarly situated. Taking everything into account it appears 
fair to us to assume that in 30 years from now Mount Vernon 
will have in round numbers a population of from 75,000 to 
80,000 people. 

As to the rate of growth, that is dependent upon a number 
of local factors. Generally speaking it seems reasonable to as¬ 
sume that by 1920 the population will be in the vicinity of 45,000 
people and in 1930 in the vicinity of 60,000 people. 

This report is prepared with a view of providing for the 
requirements of Mount Vernon itself for a sufficiently long 
period in the future to insure a sound business aspect to the 
water works proposition. In the early years, if the city should 
buy the property of the New York Inter Urban Water Co., it 
would be necessary also to figure upon the population of those 
other communities outside of Mount Vernon which derive their 
water supplies from the present company. To show the extent 
of such use, Table 3, based upon data furnished by the Water 
Company, is given. It indicates the consumption of water in 
Mount Vernon, Mamaroneck, Rye Neck, Harrison and Pelham 
Heights as accurately as it is feasible for us to do from the 
available information. 

In examining the annual summaries of these records for the 
past five years, it is interesting to note that the total annual water 
consumption has increased nearly 50 per cent., and that the 
apparent water consumption per capita in Mount Vernon has 
increased by about 38 per cent. 

TABLE 3. 

Summary of Annual Records Showing Total Quantity of Water 
Supplied by the New York Inter-Urban Water Company, 
with Estimated Annual Consumption of Mount Vernon and 
Daily Consumption Per Capita. 

1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 

Est. Pop. of Mt. Ver’n 27,043 28,012 28,981 29,950 30,919 

Total Annual Water Supply in Million Gallons: 


Mamaroneck Sta. 698.4 867.9 698.8 855.9 910.0 

Pelhamville Sta. 144.7 127.8 259.2 178.0 224.2 

Tarrytown Supply. 41.5 49.4 

N. Y. City Supply. 44.7 

Total . 843.1 995.7 958.0 1,075.4 1,228.3 

Less 0.5 M. G. daily* 660.6 813.2 775.5 892.9 1,045.8 

Less 5% slip. 627.6 772.6 736.8 848.3 993.5 

Mt. Vernon Water Supply: 

M. G. per Annum.. 627.6 772.6 736.8 848.3 993.5 

Gals, per cap. daily.. 64 75 70 78 88 


* Estimate of Water Company of consumption of Mamar¬ 
oneck, Rye Neck, Harrison and Pelham Heights. 









In considering the water consumption, it is necessary to 
bear in mind that the total quantity of water delivered into a 
distribution system is considerably in excess of the sum of the 
volumes of water used by the individual water consumers. In 
fact, the summation of all meter readings in communities sup¬ 
plied entirely by meter seldom amounts to more than 70 per 
cent, of the total volume of water delivered into the water works 
system. In no instance do we know of a plant, comparable in 
size with that of Mount Vernon, where the meters of the con¬ 
sumers account for as much as 80 per cent, of the total pumpage. 
Frequently it is between 60 and 65 per cent, and in some cases 
it is even less than 60 per cent. 

The reason of this is to be found in the leakage in the 
pipe systems and the consumption of water for public purposes 
that are not metered, such as flushing sewers, fountains, and 
other reasons which it is not necessary to discuss here. 

At present in Mount Vernon about 88 per cent, of the 
water consumers are equipped with meters. It is our opinion that 
a volume of water delivered into the pipe system equal on an 
average to 100 gallons per capita daily is a liberal allowance 
for future requirements of Mount Vernon. With care its sup¬ 
ply could be limited to appreciably less than this. 

Applying this volume of water per capita daily to the popu¬ 
lation estimates above given, it is seen that, if Mount Vernon is 
to go into the water works business and is to look ahead as is 
ordinarily the case in such projects for a term of 25 to 30 years, 
it is wise for the city to decide upon means by which a water 
supply could be secured equivalent to a daily yield of about 7.5 
million gallons. It is not necessary, however, to provide so 
large a supply at present. 

The City of Mount Vernon, independently of the neighbor¬ 
ing communities supplied by the New York Inter Urban Water 
Co., is apparently using about 2.5 million gallons daily on an 
average. It is our conclusion that in the study of this water 
supply project, provision should be made at once for securing a 
supply equal to about double the present requirements of Mount 
Vernon and that ultimately about three times this volume should 
be provided. 

The outside communities of Pelham Heights, Mamaroneck, 
Harrison and Rye Neck now have 1,656 consumers in the aggre¬ 
gate, as compared with 5,416 consumers in the City of Mount 
Vernon. This shows that 20.2 per cent, of the consumers are 
now outside of Mount Vernon and the data in Table 3 indicate 
that about 17.5 per cent, of the water is consumed by them. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the outside communities, to¬ 
gether with Mount Vernon, will obviously increase in population 
much more rapidly than given above for Mount Vernon alone, 
we are of the opinion that is is not necessary now to figure upon 
supplying permanently the outside communities. That matter 
can receive its final decision in later years as conditions shape 
themselves more definitely than can now be forecasted. 


12 


In this connection it is also to be borne in mind that the 
City of Mount Vernon and other communities may in a few 
years secure their water, if they so desire, from the City of New 
York, and particularly during the dry seasons of the year when 
the small watersheds in and about Westchester county might 
be overtaxed for short intervals. 

As regards the quality of the water now supplied by the 
New York Inter Urban Water Co., the available data indicate 
it to be good from a hygienic standpoint. This is in harmony 
with the vital statistics of the community with respect to the 
prevalence of typhoid fever and other intestinal diseases and it 
is also in line with the results of analysis made weekly by the 
Lederle Laboratories of New York City, A summary of the 
monthly averages in 1910 of the quality of the water before and 
after Alteration at the Mamaroneck station of the New York 
Inter Urban Water Co., is given in Table 4. The bacterial 
results are expressed in numbers per cubic centimeter and the 
turbidity and alkalinity results are given in parts per million. 

TABLE 4. 

Showing Rqsults of Monthly Averages of Analysis of Mamar 
roneck.—River Water. 


Bacteria. Turbidity. Alkalinity. 


Date. 

Raw. 

Filtered 

Raw. 

Raw. 

Filtered. 

January, 1910. 

. 4,357 

108 

19 

35 

27 

February, 1910 ... 

. 2,233 

73 

34 

28 

21 

March, 1910 . 

640 

78 

18 

30 

22 

April 1910 . 

764 

40 

27 

38 

32 

May, 1910 . 

501 

19 

17 

41 

36 

June, 1910 . 

969 

64 

21 

37 

31 

July, 1910 . 

570 

70 

10 

55 

46 

August, 1910 .... 

. 1,528 

99 

30 

61 

46 

September, 1910 . 

612 

80 

35 

64 

51 

October, 1910 ... 

732 

12 

10 

61 

46 

November, 1910 . 

. 2,570 

135 

19 

54 

43 

December, 1910 . 

. 5,428 

107 

14 

51 

41 


We find that the water from the Mamaroneck station is 
sterilized by the hypochlorite method and while it is understood 
that at times the tap water has rather an undesirable amount of 
color and turbidity, seemingly due in part at least to the stirring 
up of deposits in the pipe system, it seems fair to conclude that 
with good management there should be no serious objection to 
the filtered water supply from the present sources. 

Pressure. The general elevation of the surface of Mount 
Vernon ranges from 20 to 170 feet. At the base of the stand¬ 
pipe the ground is about elevation 134 and the top of the stand¬ 
pipe is at about elevation 259. There are places on the high 
ground where difficulty is experienced in getting sufficient pres- 


13 









sure of water above the first floor, but it is believed that a few 
reinforcing pipes would obviate this trouble to a considerable 
extent. An improved water supply for the city, however, should 
provide a somewhat greater pressure than at the present time. 

We will next proceed to discuss the relative merits of the 
various propositions which the city has placed before us for 
consideration and advice, and we shall view the same in the 
light of providing in the early future a supply of some 5,000,000 
gallons of water daily, equal to about double the present supply 
of the City of Mount Vernon, and ultimately of providing a 
supply of about 7,500,000 gallons daily, or roughly three times 
the present supply for the City of Mount Vernon. 


PROPOSITION 1. 

Economy and Suitability of Obtaining a Future Water Supply 
From the Existing Sources of the New York Inter Urban 
Water Company, Supplemented by Additional Storage East 
of the City. 


It is highly important at the beginning of this discussion to 
fix clearly in mind that there is a definite relation between the 
flow of rivers and the precipitation on the watershed as rain or 
snow. A part of the water reaching the surface of the earth sinks 
into the ground and becomes ground water or well water; part 
of it flows off to the ocean in streams, and the remainder is evapo¬ 
rated. In connection with storage reservoirs, also, it is important 
to bear in mind that evaporation is a large factor. Indeed evapo¬ 
ration from the surface of a body of water causes in the course 
of a year a decrease in amount substantially equal to the increase 
from the rainfall on the water surface. In other words, evapo¬ 
ration in storage reservoirs aggregates more than 40 inches per 
year, of which the greater part takes place during the summer 
months. 

The rainfall, runoff and yield of storage reservoirs are figured 
in this report largely on the experiences obtained for more than 
40 years from the Croton watershed of New York City and the 
Sudbury watershed of Boston, Mass. 

On an average the runoff for each square mile of watershed 
in this locality approximates 1,000,000 gallons of water daily. 
The fluctuation in flow is very wide. During extreme floods the 
runoff sometimes reaches as high as 100,000,000 gallons daily per 
square mile. At times of protracted drouth the flow is corre¬ 
spondingly small, as was noticed in the Mamaroneck river last 
October when the flow of the river for the entire month averaged 
only about 32,000 gallons daily per square mile. On some days 
it was much less than this. 

Obviously it would be necessary to provide storage on the 
Mamaroneck river to meet the present consumption and in pro¬ 
viding this storage it would be necessary to take into account the 


i4 


losses of water by evaporation as well as by the withdrawal of 
water from the reservoir for purposes of consumption. 

Taking into account the conditions of rainfall and evapora¬ 
tion substantially as they are found to exist upon the Croton and 
Sudbury watersheds, we consider that Table 5, prepared some 
years ago by the Massachusetts State Board of Health, gives a 
good indication of the general relation between the extreme dry- 
weather yield of a watershed and the varying amounts of storage 
per square mile of watershed and on the basis that the area of 
the water surface is approximately 3 per cent, of the total water¬ 
shed. More recent data, particularly those prepared by Mr. John 
R. Freeman in his investigation of the Croton supply in 1900, 
show some further refinements, but for present purposes Table 
5 will be sufficient in fixing the relationship between storage and 
runofif per square mile of watershed. It then becomes necessary 
simply to apply the table to the total area of watershed available 
to determine the amount of storage needed in order to indicate 
the amount of water which it is desired to obtain. 


TABLE 5. 


Relation Between Continuous Dry-weather Yield and Necessary 
Storage per Square Mile of Watershed. 


Daily Yield in Gals, 
per Square Mile. 

100,000. 

150,000. 

200,000. 

250,000. 

300,000. 

400,000. 

500,000. 

600,000. 

700,000. 

800,000. 

900,000. 

1,000,000. 


Storage Required, Gals, 
per Square Mile. 

. 3,000,000 

. 7,100,000 

. 11,700,000 

. 22,200,000 

. 33,000,000 

. 54,400,000 

. 77,300,000 

.104,600,000 

.153,000,000 

.210,900,000 

.349,200,000 

.516,700,000 


We will now proceed to the consideration of the volume of 
water that may be secured with the aid of storage in an economi¬ 
cal manner from the several watersheds in which the present 
Water Company is interested, as well as some others in and near 
Westchester county. 

PELHAMVILLE SUPPLY. 

We have given consideration to the Pelhamville supply, but 
find that it has not sufficient watershed area either along Tom 
Payne brook or Hutchinson creek, after excluding an area of 
3.4 square miles utilized by the New Rochelle Water Co., to make 


i5 














it much of a factor in securing the supply required for the city 
of Mount Vernon. 

Perhaps it would be well at this point to note that the value 
of the real estate holdings of the present Water Company in con¬ 
nection with the Pelhamville property is such that their usefulness 
in these developments is practically over, because their continued 
use for waterworks purposes would be less advantageous than 
for sale at their appreciated present value as real estate. 

So long as the Mamaroneck river without storage furnishes 
the main source of supply for the present Water Company, it is, 
of course, true that the 90,000,000 gallons of water stored in 
Tom Payne brook is of value. It is also true that the flow of 
Hutchinson creek is of aid in maintaining the city supply under 
present conditions. But under the conditions of development of the 
whole waterworks proposition for the future in an economical 
manner an ample supply could only be obtained advantageously 
in connection with other sources. Hence these small watersheds 
of Hutchinson creek and Tom Payne brook fall out of the reckon¬ 
ing on account of their size and the impossibility of developing 
sufficient water from them without also using more distant 
sources. 

Another useful purpose which the Pelhamville plant tem¬ 
porarily serves is that of a reserve or standby to take care of 
the needs of the City of Mount Vernon in the event there were 
a break in the force main between the Mamaroneck station and 
Mount Vernon. This is not a purpose that the Pelhamville 
plant could be used for permanently. It is only a question of 
time when a duplicate line from Mamaroneck would be required 
in event that at the Mamaroneck station the water in its vicinity 
or east thereof should be needed for the supply of Mount Vernon. 

Accordingly we will dismiss the Pelhamville property, in¬ 
cluding the Tom Payne brook reservoirs and pipe line, as being 
entirely lacking in economy and suitability, with respect to form¬ 
ing by itself the future water supply of Mount Vernon. 

Before proceeding to consider other sources, however, it 
will be well to record our conclusions in the matter of the value 
of these properties and in which we have availed of the data 
on real estate values as furnished on August 7 and 12, 1911, by 
your Board in co-operation with local real estate experts who 
are far more familiar than we are as to land values in that dis¬ 
trict. 

Pelhamville Valuation. The total value of the real estate 
of the Pelhamville plant adjoining the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. 
tracks and the rights of way for the pipe line from said Pelham¬ 
ville plant to the Mahlstedt and Lester reservoirs on Tom Payne 
brook, is given as $298,822. We estimate that it would cost 
to duplicate the pumping station, filters, pipe lines, and the Lester 
and Mahlstedt reservoirs, approximately $244,558. As to the 
depreciation of all the water works improvements in connection 
with the Pelhamville property above mentioned so far as wear 
and tear are concerned, we place the figure at approximately 

16 


$46,178. This does not tell the whole story, however, because 
the present plant has practically outlived its usefulness as ex¬ 
plained above, and its functional depreciation causes its value 
for water works purposes, in our opinion, to be practically no 
greater than its real estate value, assuming for real estate pur¬ 
poses that it could be sold to good advantage. We give the 
value, therefore, of the Pelhamville and Tom Payne brook prop¬ 
erty as $300,000, and express our firm belief that whether the 
ownership should remain with the present Water Company 
or should be vested in the City of Mount Vernon, it would be 
advantageous to sell it rather than to continue to hold it for 
water works purposes beyond the period when other means 
should be provided for securing the benefit now afforded by the 
Pelhamville plant. 

What worth the Pelhamville plant is entitled to in conse¬ 
quence of the standby service during the period needed for de¬ 
veloping storage reservoirs elsewhere and building the duplicate 
force main, is a point upon which we will not enter at this time. 
After a new supply is developed the site of the Pelhamville plant 
offers some advantages for a new pumping station, as will be dis¬ 
cussed later. But even in the case of a Byram river supply, the 
disadvantages would more than offset the advantages of this site. 

MAMARONECK RIVER PLANT. 

This plant, located a mile and a half north of the village 
on the Mamaroneck river where the drainage area is about 
15 square miles, is a useful and serviceable plant except insofar 
as its utility is very seriously handicapped for lack of sufficient 
water to pump into the mains at times of dry weather. It is 
possible, as noted on page 94 of the Sixth Annual Report of the 
State Water Commission for the year ending December 31, 1910, 
to develop storage on the Mamaroneck river to an extent which 
should take care of the needs of the City of Mount Vernon 
up to the limits considered necessary within the next 25 or 30 
years and as already set forth in this report: namely, a de¬ 
velopment in the early future of about 5 million gallons dry- 
weather daily yield and an ultimate development of about 7.5 
million gallons dry-weather daily yield. In fact, the State 
authorities report an ultimate yield of 9.5 million gallons and 
we agree with this conclusion. 

Present Valuation. We estimate the cost of reproducing 
the Mamaroneck station, including dam, pumping station with 
all machinery, filter plant, lands, water rights and rights of way 
for the 16-inch force main from the pumping station to the city 
of Mount Vernon, at $422,371. From this sum should be de¬ 
ducted about $12,371, representing our estimate of the deprecia¬ 
tion due to wear and tear, leaving the present value of the 
Mamaroneck plant at about $410,000. 

Sanitary Aspects. On the drainage area of the Mamaroneck 
river above the pumping station, there is a growing population 


17 


for the most part rural in character. If the water were to be 
supplied to the citizens without filtration, or with but poor or 
inefficient filtration, we should regard it as a questionable source 
of supply. But we do not see how Mount Vernon can secure 
in or around Westchester county any surface water supply which 
would be permanently satisfactory without efficient filtration 
and purification. Such purification would offset the effects of 
surface drainage from the population upon the watershed of the 
Mamaroneck river and make the water thoroughly pure and 
wholesome. In fact, New York City after having spent many 
millions of dollars in the Croton watershed to eliminate the 
pollution by the purchase of real estate and elimination of build¬ 
ings, has come to filtration of the Croton supply, partly for 
hygienic reasons and partly in order to secure clean and attrac¬ 
tive water at all times. We have no hesitancy in saying that 
under the existing laws for the prevention of pollution, and 
with a good filtration plant, the Mamaroneck river is a favorable 
source of supply for the City of Mount Vernon. If the present 
plant were to be purchased, we would favor a number of im¬ 
provements in the filter plant which would provide a more uni¬ 
form flow of water through the plant and a more uniform appli¬ 
cation of the chemicals for the elimination of bacteria and color. 
In some ways it would be preferable to adopt a gravity type 
of filter rather than the existing pressure filters, but this is not 
an urgent matter for consideration at this time. 

Storage. On the Mamaroneck river there are at least two 
good sites where storage reservoirs could be constructed to ad¬ 
vantage. One is about 500 feet north of where West street 
crosses the Mamaroneck river and the other about 700 feet north 
of North street. Dams at either one of these sites with improve¬ 
ments at the pumping station and enlargement of the present 
reservoir would allow sufficient water to be secured by the City 
of Mount Vernon for a dozen years or so. With the upper dam 
constructed with its spillway at an elevation of about 125 feet, 
sufficient water could be secured to take care of the needs of 
Mount Vernon for the next 25 or 30 years. That is to say, 
with improvements at the pumping station and vicinity and with 
storage reservoirs at either of the above mentioned places, it is 
possible to secure a water supply of 5 million gallons daily, and 
with improvements at the pumping station and dam at the upper 
location with its flow line at elevation 125, it is possible to secure 
a supply of 7.5 million gallons daily. These quantities are 
stated with respect to dry-weather yield and if water could be 
secured from New York City for severe dry-weather periods 
which may occur during one or two years in a generation, these 
yields above stated could be increased quite materially. 

At the location of the present reservoir of the Inter Urban 
Water Co. near the pumping station it would be necessary to con¬ 
struct a new dam of concrete masonry of sufficient height (about 
20 feet) so that the reservoir above it would have a capacity of 
about 100 million gallons. It is also possible at this place to build 


18 


a dam of such height (about 30 feet) that some 400 million gal¬ 
lons of water could be stored, but this would necessitate the chang¬ 
ing of the location of the highway and the trolley tracks for a 
distance of about 6,000 feet. The construction of a lower dam 
which would flood to within about 3 feet of the present level of 
the highway would be preferable in our opinion. Such a reser¬ 
voir would store the water from the summer showers on the 
watershed above and would be sufficient to take care of any fluctu¬ 
ations in the consumption of water during short periods. Of the 
two available sites above the present dam, the upper site, which is 
some 13,000 feet upstream from the waterworks pumping sta¬ 
tion, is preferable. A concrete dam with its spillway at about 
elevation 115 would be sufficient to take care of the needs of the 
city for some years to come. Ultimately this dam could be raised 
to a height of about 43 feet with its spillway at an elevation of 
125 feet, which would give a storage of about 1,000 million gal¬ 
lons of water. This reservoir would be about 1,000 feet wide 
at the widest place and would extend back for a distance of about 
3 miles from the site of the dam. 

The estimated cost which you obtained for us of the real 
estate, which it would be necessary to purchase in order to carry 
out this project, becomes a considerable item of expense. We 
have prepared estimates which indicate that with a reasonable 
allowance for real estate, according to the estimates mentioned 
above, a 5-million gallon daily supply could be obtained from the 
Mamaroneck river, including the necessary changes and additions 
in the existing pumping station, dam and filter plant, and with a 
new 24-inch force main extending to Mount Vernon for the sum 
of $902,360. 

With proper additions to the dam as above mentioned, and 
with additions to the pumping station and filters, a 7.5-million 
gallon supply could be obtained from the Mamaroneck river for 
an additional cost of about $207,825, including real estate, or a 
total sum for the new supply works of $1,110,185. These sums 
do not include the purchase of the existing works of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Company. 

This report on the development of storage on the Mamaro¬ 
neck river has been prepared on the basis that there could be 
made available the entire drainage area of the Mamaroneck river 
above the present pumping station of the New York Inter Urban 
Water Co. We are aware that the village of White Plains made 
application a few years ago for utilizing for its water supply 
some 2.3 square miles of the drainage area of the east branch of 
the Mamaroneck river. An injunction was obtained against this 
step by the New York Inter Urban Water Co. Should this 
injunction become permanently dissolved and White Plains actu¬ 
ally utilize the area above stated, it would cause a modification 
in the yields given in this report. It would still be possible, how¬ 
ever, to develop a dry-weather yield of 7.5 million gallons daily 
from the remaining area of a little more than 12 square miles. 


i9 


BYRAM RIVER. 


Just across the State line in Connecticut is the Byram river, 
from the west branch of which the city of New York obtains 
a portion of its supply by diversion to Rye lake. From the infor¬ 
mation furnished us by you it appears that it is feasible to secure 
the legal rights to obtain water from the Byram river for the 
needs of Mount Vernon and in accordance with your instruc¬ 
tions we have proceeded to investigate this matter as regards 
reservoir sites, volume of water stored, elevation of the flow line 
when the storage reservoir is full and when it is drawn down, 
and means for delivering water to the existing plant of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Co. at Mamaroneck. 

There are three branches to this river, designated as the 
West, Middle and East branches. The West branch has a water¬ 
shed, exclusive of that utilized by New York City, of about 3.6 
square miles, according to the Government maps. A dam 
located on this branch with its spillway at elevation 265 would 
provide a storage reservoir which would hold about 270 million 
gallons. This dam would be about 350 feet long, about 50 feet 
high, and would flood about 40 acres. The water would be con¬ 
veyed by a canal to a proposed main reservoir on the Middle 
branch above the junction of the Middle and West branches of 
the river, and just below the junction of the Middle and East 
branches. With a dam just below the present ice pond on the 
Middle branch, a reservoir could be constructed which could 
store about 2,000 million gallons of water. The total watershed 
area of the Middle and East branches is about 12 square miles, 
according to the Government maps. It is understood that the 
local Water Company at Greenwich, Conn., contemplates building 
a reservoir on the East branch, near the road leading to Round 
Hill. The watershed of the East branch above this point is about 
4.9 square miles in area, leaving about 7 square miles tributary 
to the reservoirs. Should dams be built on the Middle branch and 
on the West branch, as indicated, it would be perfectly possible 
to obtain a daily supply of about 7.5 million gallons of water 
without utilizing the upper part of the East branch. 

To store 2,000 million gallons of water would require on 
the Middle branch a dam about 80 feet high in the highest place 
with a spillway at an elevation of about 230 and low water at 
the end of the dry season in the reservoir would be at about ele¬ 
vation 180. The dam would flood about 300 acres. 

To store sufficient water in the main reservoir so that a daily 
supply of 5 million gallons could be obtained from the total area 
of 12 square miles on the Middle and East branches would 
require a dam about 65 feet high, storing about 800 million gal¬ 
lons. 

The available head would be such that it would be simple 
to deliver water by gravity to the Mamaroneck pumping station 
(elevation about 45 feet), through a pipe line about 57,400 feet 
long. With water in the main reservoir at elevation 180., a 


20 


24-inch pipe would deliver 6.4 millions gallons daily and a 30-inch 
pipe about 11.4 million gallons daily. 

At the Mamaroneck station it would be necessary to establish 
a modern filter plant to provide water of proper hygienic quality 
and appearance. In fact, there would be needed substantially 
all of the developments and improvements at the pumping station 
and force main to Mount Vernon that have been described 
above for the development of the Mamaroneck river project. 
Of course, the storage reservoirs, as described, would not be 
needed, but it would be necessary to provide some storage near 
the Mamaroneck pumping station in order to guard against 
interruption in the supply in the event of a break in the pipe 
line from Byram river. Such storage would also be of aid in 
meeting the. irregular rates of water consumption as compared 
with the uniform rate of flow through the pipe line, when it 
delivers at full rate at times when the main reservoir is at a low 
stage. 

It is not feasible to deliver water by gravity from Byram 
river to the Pelhamville plant, because its cost would be too great 
for a pipe line large enough to deliver the needed volume of 
water at the low head available. Double pumping would be 
obviously objectionable. 

We have inspected the watershed and reservoir sites and we 
have made surveys for a pipe line, as shown on the accompanying 
maps. From this survey we have obtained checks upon the ele¬ 
vations of the Government maps. There are quite a number of 
houses on the ridge road in the watershed, especially at the little 
village of Round Hill. The valleys are comparatively free of 
swamps. 

We estimate as a result of our studies that the development 
of a 5-million gallon daily supply, on the supposition that the 
entire 12 miles of watershed of the Middle and East branches 
could be utilized, would cost, including real estate, reservoir 
(800 million gallons), water rights, one 24-inch force main to 
the Mamaroneck pumping station, and compensation to the pres¬ 
ent owners of the reservoir site, about $1,055,000. The esti¬ 
mated cost of purchasing the present Mamaroneck plant, $410,- 
000, and of additions to the Mamaroneck plant, $452,258, would 
make a total of $1,917,258. 

Should it not be feasible to obtain water from the upper 
part of the East branch, then a higher dam (74 feet) with greater 
storage (1,400 million gallons) would have to be built for the 
main reservoir which, with the increase in the amount of land 
needed, would add about $182,436 to the investment, or a total 
estimated cost of $1,999,694. 

A 7.5-million gallon daily supply could be obtained for this last 
figure, if the 4.9 square miles of watershed were available at the 
upper end of the East branch. Without this additional water¬ 
shed, it would be necessary to obtain water from the West 
branch and bring it by canal to the larger reservoir (2,000 million 
gallons.) We estimate that this would cost for the main res- 


21 


ervoir and the West branch reservoir, two 24-inch force mains 
to the Mamaroneck station, land, rights of way, water rights 
and compensation to the present owners of the reservoir sites, 
about $1,713,666. To this must be added the cost of purchasing 
the Mamaroneck station, $410,000, and development of the 
Mamaroneck station, $527,858, or a total of $2,651,524. 

OTHER WATERSHEDS EAST OF MOUNT VERNON. 

It is futile to consider watershed areas further east than 
the Byram river, as their cost would be greater as a source of 
supply for the City of Mount Vernon than would be watershed 
areas nearer to the city; and there would be no advantages to 
offset the increased cost. 

Between the By ram river and the City of Mount Vernon 
there are two streams which we have examined and to which 
we will make brief reference as a matter of record. 

Between Hutchinson creek and the Mamaroneck river is a 
small stream known as Shelldrake river, from which a small 
supply is obtained by the Larchmont Water Co. The drainage 
area of this stream at Shelldrake lake is about 3.2 square miles. 
Obviously it is too small to receive attention in this report. 

Between the Mamaroneck river and the Byram river is 
Blind creek which we have examined with some care. Above 
the village of Port Chester it has a drainage area of a little over 
7 square miles. An available reservoir site exists on the main 
stream above Port Chester and another site is near the village 
of Purchase on the branch spoken of locally as Purdy brook. 
From these two storage reservoirs it would be possible to obtain 
a dry-weather yield of about 4.5 million gallons daily. 

We have eliminated Blind creek from detailed considera¬ 
tion, partly on account of its being too small in size and partly 
on account of its expense. The water from the main reservoir 
on this creek could not be delivered by gravity to either the 
Mamaroneck or Pelhamville pumping stations of the New York 
Inter Urban Water Co. Hence double pumping would be nec¬ 
essary if this watershed were utilized in providing supplementary 
storage to increase the supply from the existing sources. 

PROPOSITION 2. 

Economy and Suitability of a Water Supply From New York 

City. 

Water from the present sources, that is, from the Croton 
watershed or from the existing Kensico reservoir, seems to be 
out of the question for use by the city of Mount Vernon, other 
than possibly for emergency use at times when the city of New 
York could spare the water. 

As to the Catskill supply, it is expected that it will reach 
Croton lake, and enter the present piping system of New York 


22 


City, in the late autumn of 1913. Contracts also provide that 
structures should be completed so that it should flow through 
the Catskill aqueduct to the Hill View reservoir, near the Empire 
City race track, in December, 1913. The contract date of com¬ 
pletion of the Hill View reservoir is April 24, 1916. The law 
provides that any municipal corporation in Westchester county 
may take water up to the pro rata quantity used in the city of 
New York under the conditions set forth in Section 40 of the 
Laws of 1905, Chapter 724, as follows: 

“Supply of Water to Other Municipalities. Immediately upon the ac¬ 
quisition of an additional supply of water by the City of New York, under 
the provisions of this act, or under proceedings instituted after the passage 
of this act, it shall be lawful for any of the municipal corporations in the 
County of Westchester to take and receive from any of the reservoirs, 
aqueducts, conduits, streams or pipes of the City of New York, a supply 
of water for the uses and purposes of the said municipal corporations. 

“The connection with said reservoirs, aqueducts, conduits, streams or 
pipes shall be made at the expense of said municipalities, and they shall 
pay to the City of New York water charges or rates in the same 
amounts as are charged by the City of New York to persons using water 
in that city. Any such municipal corporation desiring to take and receive 
water under the provisions of this section shall make application to the 
proper officer in charge of the water supply of the City of New York in 
writing, showing the place and manner in which it is propesed to make 
such connections. It shall be the duty of the said officer to grant a permit 
or authorization for the said connections, under reasonable rules and 
regulations, including the installation of proper meters or other devices for 
ascertaining the quantity of water thus taken. Provided, however, that 
no greater quantity of water shall be taken by the said municipal corpora¬ 
tions than the proportionate quantity that is used by the City of New York, 
the proportion being calculated according to the number of inhabitants 
respectively of the said city and municipal corporations as shown by the 
last preceding census of the United States.” 


The meter rate above referred to, in connection with the 
payment to the city of New York, according to Section 282 of 
the Code of Ordinances of the city of New York, provides a 
charge of 10 cents per 100 cubic feet of water. This is equal to 
13 1-3 cents per 1,000 gallons, or about $133 per million gallons. 

It is also to be pointed out that connections with reservoir, 
aqueduct, conduit or pipe shall be made at the expense of the 
municipality in Westchester county requesting such connection to 
be made. 

The connection with the Catskill project would probably be 
made at the so-called Bryn Mawr blowoff, distant from the west¬ 
erly city line of Mount Vernon about 10,000 feet. When the Hill 
View reservoir is completed, a connection could be made there 
which would make a somewhat shorter and cheaper line to Mount 
Vernon than the connection to Bryn Mawr. 

The cost of a 24-inch pipe line from the Catskill aqueduct 
to connect with the piping system in Mount Vernon would be 
from $75,000 to $100,000, depending upon the route selected. 

The normal elevation of the water in the Catskill aqueduct 
will be in the neighborhood of 295 feet above tide, which is amply 


23 


adequate to give reasonable pressure in the city of Mount Vernon, 
fully as great as at present. 

If water were to be taken from the vicinity of Williams- 
bridge from pipes connecting with the distributing system of the 
Borough of the Bronx in New York City, the cost might be less 
than a connection with the Catskill aqueduct at Bryn Mawr or 
Hill View. The water pressure in the future at the western city 
line of Mount Vernon near Williamsbridge is somewhat uncer¬ 
tain, but it would probably be equivalent to that above stated for 
the Catskill connection at Bryn Mawr or Hill View. 

Upon the completion of the Croton filter plant and the intro¬ 
duction of Catskill water, some changes will doubtless be made 
in the distribution system of the Borough of the Bronx, but it is 
scarcely feasible to forecast just what they may be at this time. 
It is also difficult to say what, if any, financial advantage Mount 
Vernon might take regularly of New York’s pipes to the Williams¬ 
bridge district. 

The Catskill water supply will no doubt be very satisfactory, 
both as to quality and pressure, and when the contemplated im¬ 
provements are made the same may be said of the water from 
the Croton system after filtration. 

As to cost, it is our opinion, after looking into the State law 
creating the Board of Water Supply of New York City, in the 
matter of the Catskill water supply, that it is considerably higher 
than would be the case with water from other sources. 

It may be that more favorable terms might be secured by 
agreement or adjustment, but that seems to be a wholly specu¬ 
lative matter at this time. In fact, the Westchester municipalities 
are much less favorably circumstanced in this regard than are 
those of Putnam county. The latter have the power to make 
adjustment with New York city both as to the cost of the water 
and that of the connections to be made with the Catskill system, 
as set forth in Chapter 726 of the Laws of 1905, from which the 
following extract is taken: 

“Acquisition of Lands and Water-rights and the Use of Waters in 
Putnam County. Any village or town in the county of Putnam, or a cor¬ 
poration, or person or persons authorized by or in pursuance of law to 
establish therein a water works system for supplying such village or town 
and the inhabitants thereof with water, may connect its or their water 
mains or pipes with the lakes, streams, reservoirs, aqueducts, water pipes 
and conduits of the City of New York now or hereafter located in such 
county, and take water therefrom for supplying such village or town and 
the inhabitants thereof with water. Such connections shall be made in 
the manner agreed upon between the authorities of such village or town, 
or such corporation, person or persons, and the Commissioner of Water 
Supply, Gas, and Electricity of the City of New York, or as directed by a 
special term of the Supreme Court held in the Secoud Judicial District, 
upon application made in behalf of such town, village, corporation, person 
or persons. The amount of water that may be drawn shall not exceed the 
proportionate amount that is used by the City of New York, the propor¬ 
tion being calculated according to the number of inhabitants respectively 
of the said city, town or village as shown by the last preceding census of 
the United States. The amount to be paid to the City of New York for 


24 


water so supplied shall be agreed upon between the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment of the City of New York and the authorities of such 
village or town, or such corporation, person or persons, or fixed and de- 
termmed by a special term of the Supreme Court held in the Second 
Judicial District, upon application made in behalf of such town village 
corporation, person or persons. 

PROPOSITION 3. 

Well Supply From Hutchinson Creek Valley. 

The first question to be looked into as to a well water supply 
is that of sufficient quantity to make the project worth while. It 
is necessary to bear in mind that all water has its origin in the 
rainfall, and also that a definite relation exists between the rain¬ 
fall and the runoff which reaches the ocean through the streams, 
as well as that portion of the rainfall which soaks into the ground 
and forms what is called “ground water” or “well water.” 

Where the rainfall approximates that in the vicinity of 
Mount Vernon it is found that for each square mile of land sur¬ 
face it is possible for some 500,000 to 750,000 gallons of water 
to be withdrawn through wells or galleries each day from a square 
mile of watershed, depending on the rainfall. Under the condi¬ 
tions last stated it is also necessary to assume that there is an 
ample quantity of porous material to store within its interstices 
a sufficient portion of the rainfall, as it is precipitated, so as to 
serve for use during periods of dry weather. In fact, it is also 
necessary to assume that the required quantity of water would 
be stored within reach of the pumps, and that the pumps with¬ 
drawing the water would be spaced at sufficiently frequent inter¬ 
vals so that in prolonged drouths they would be able theoretically 
to empty what would constitute a large underground storage 
reservoir. 

One of the most valuable lines of observation, based upon 
experience in well supplies, is that furnished by a portion of the 
Brooklyn water works. Here a substantial portion of the Bor¬ 
ough of Brooklyn derives its supply from numerous wells scat¬ 
tered over a considerable area of the western portion of Long 
Island, which is made up in large measure of moderately porous 
sand. The quantities above stated as to the yield per square 
mile of surface area are substantially in conformity with those 
found by experience to be available from Long Island supplies. 

In some cases yields of ground water may be obtained 
which look very large in comparison with the apparent drainage 
area of the gathering ground of the well water. This is due in 
some instances to a connection through strata of coarse material 
with large deposits of porous sand and gravel, which are situated 
outside the apparent limits of the drainage area. In other in¬ 
stances, such as are frequently found in Indiana and portions 
of the Middle West, sufficient rock fissures permit the flow of 
underground streams so that rain water may reach wells far 
removed from the locality where the rain actually first meets 
the surface of the earth. 


2 5 


In Hutchinson creek valley considerable experience has been 
obtained with the well water proposition. Part of the data are 
available from the wells sunk by the New York Inter Urban 
Water Co. in the neighborhood of the Pelhamville station. More 
information is available from the wells of the New Rochelle 
Water Company, located about one-half mile down the valley 
and from which it is stated that about 1 million gallons of water 
are pumped daily. Still other information and experiences are 
available from the recently built wells at the Westchester brew¬ 
ery and from wells sunk by the City of Mount Vernon during 
the last few months. 

At the Pelhamville plant of the New York Inter Urban 
Water Co., the total drainage area of the Hutchinson creek 
is 5.5 square miles. In the vicinity of the well plant of the New 
Rochelle Water Works the drainage area is about 7.8 square 
miles. From these areas, however, in figuring upon the avail¬ 
able ground water, it is necessary to make some deduction for 
the 3.4 square miles which is the catchment area of the storage 
reservoirs of the New Rochelle Water Co. with an aggregate 
capacity of about 445 million gallons. The reason of this is that 
there is no substantial underground stream in this valley and 
that at times of dry-weather when the storage reservoirs are 
more or less depleted, the rainfall upon the upper reaches of the 
watershed is impounded in these reservoirs and does not reach 
the lower portions of the watershed. This leaves only about 2.1 
square miles of watershed area constantly available for furnishing 
rainfall in Hutchinson creek valley at the Pelhamville station 
which is about half a mile above the New Rochelle Water Com¬ 
pany’s well plant. The indications, therefore, for securing a 
substantial volume of well water supply as a regular procedure 
are not promising in any measure, except insofar as related 
to Hutchinson creek valley receiving underground water through 
rock crevices from rain which falls some distance removed 
therefrom; or from the storage of water in porous strata in 
connection with the salt marshes in the lower portion of the 
valley. 

A full account of the tests and experiences in locating a 
temporary well plant for emergency use on the city’s property 
in the vicinity of Warwick avenue will be set forth in detail in 
a full report upon this subject, but briefly a summary of the 
experience obtained is as follows: 

1. The character of the ground is for the most part a 
medium porous sand from the surface down to where rock is 
encountered, which is from 35 to 50 feet below the surface. 

2. The rock is a hard non-porous variety in which fissures 
or crevices are lacking as a rule. 

3. There seems to be no connection between the rainfall 
reaching the surface of the ground outside of the immediate 
drainage area of Hutchinson creek above the location of the 


26 


wells and the volume of ground water in this valley. That 
which falls in the lower valley of this creek below the plant of 
the New Rochelle Water Company apparently does influence the 
storage of ground water. The well plant of the last mentioned 
company, however, is understood to draw at times as much 
water as it is possible to obtain and still maintain the supply 
substantially free from the influences of salt water. 

4. As to quality, the water from test wells and that ob¬ 
tained from some other deep wells in the vicinity appears to be 
satisfactory, although the hardness is materially greater than 
that of the surface waters in the neighborhood as now supplied 
to Mount Vernon and neighboring cities. 

5. The apparent available storage of water beneath the 
ground in the vicinity of the wells recently driven by the City 
of Mount Vernon probably does not exceed 50 million gallons 
and it may be considerably less. By extending the wells over 
a greater area the amount of water could presumably be in¬ 
creased within certain limits, but the well water plants of the 
brewery on the north and of the New Rochelle Water Co. on 
the south give no opportunity of figuring upon such a municipal 
plant as would be servicable for other than temporary purposes. 

6. Such a well plant would be expensive to maintain at 
best, and in our opinion the quantity is too small to be con¬ 
sidered in connection with reinforcing with water from New 
York City so as to make these two combined sources serve 
advantageously as the supply for Mount Vernon’s needs in the 
future. 


PROPOSITION 4. 

Desirability of Purchasing the Entire Plant of the New York 
Inter Urban Water Company. 

On the proposition as to whether it is better for the City of 
Mount Vernon to buy the old works or to build complete new 
works, our views are clear that if the city can buy the present 
works at a fair price, it is by far the wisest thing to do. 

If the purchasing price is not too high, there are no dis¬ 
advantages in buying the present plant in the event that it is 
decided that the city wants to go into the municipal water works 
business. 

The advantages, on the other hand, of buying the old works 
as compared with building new works are several, among which 
may be mentioned the following: 

a. It aids in securing a good public water supply as to 
quality and quantity with a minimum of delay. 

b. It averts the possibility of ruinous competition, such as 
would result disastrously to both the city and the water company 
if each tried to supply the city with a plant of its own. 


27 


c. It avoids expensive and protracted litigation as to in¬ 
junction suits which almost without question would follow at 
once any attempts by the city to proceed actively in the wholesale 
construction of a complete municipal water works plant. 

d. It meets all moral obligations which may face the city 
and leaves the city with clean hands on the score of wrecking 
property through needless duplication. 

e. It avoids possibilities or probabilities of doubt being 
thrown upon the city’s credit in connnection with the marketing 
of its bonds, such as would come up with the marketing of se¬ 
curities for a duplicate plant. If attempts were made to float 
bonds for such a purpose, experience elsewhere indicates that 
circular letters addressed by capitalists to all the principal bond¬ 
ing houses in the country might constitute an embarrassment to 
a serious and far-reaching extent for the city. 

/. It would enable the city to go into the water works 
business with a smaller investment than would be required if a 
complete new plant were to be built. This is due to the fact that 
the item of depreciation on the present plant amounts to quite 
a sum. Again, on the distribution system, if a new plant were 
to be built, there are many of the pipes which would undoubtedly 
be larger so as to provide more adequately for future growth, 
and many of the pipes in the outlaying districts would be made 
larger and would be cross-connected. Such cross-connecting 
will sooner or later have to be done with the present pipe sys¬ 
tem, but it is possible to do it piecemeal to an extent that is 
greater than would be actually done in practice in building com¬ 
plete new works. 

g. It saves the city the great annoyance of cutting up its 
streets, particularly all of its paved streets, in order to allow new 
street mains to be built. 

h. It saves the consumers the annoyance of shifting house 
connections or service pipes from the old to the new street mains. 
In the event of competition the city would undoubtedly be 
obliged to pay for changing the connections, otherwise the con¬ 
sumers might remain with the old plant. Indirectly this cost 
would fall upon the citizens in the shape of taxes, notwithstand¬ 
ing the fact that they now own the service pipes connecting to 
the existing mains. 

On the proposition of purchasing the entire plant of the 
New York Inter Urban Water Co. as distinguished from pur¬ 
chasing a portion of the plant, it is our view that it would be 
desirable, all things considered, to purchase the plant as a whole 
in the event that condemnation proceedings are resorted to. 
Should it be feasible to negotiate or agree upon a price, it might 
be feasible to eliminate certain portions of the plant by mutual 
consent. Perhaps this might also be done on a condemnation 


28 


procedure, but as a general proposition it is our view that the 
City of Mount Vernon would pay nearly as much for a sub¬ 
stantial part of the plant as they would for the whole plant, in 
view of the interpretation sometimes placed upon consequential 
damages or upon what is sometimes called “damages due to 
severance.” This is predicated on the thought that the Water 
Company would claim that a small residue of their plant would be 
of but very small value to them. 

We are aware that the purchase of the entire plant of the 
water company would involve the carrying out for a time at 
least of the present arrangements of the water company for 
supplying water to Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye, etc., but we 
think that that would be a fairly simple thing to do. If desired, 
arrangements could probably be made so that ultimately the City 
of Mount Vernon could wholesale water to these communities, 
who would own their own distributing pipes. 

As to the Pelhamville plant and the reservoir on Tom 
Payne brook, their usefulness now is practically that of a standby 
or reserve in the event of a break in the long force main coming 
from the Mamaroneck pumping station. With an ample quantity 
of water developed by the city and with a duplicate force main, 
there is no reason for keeping the works on Tom Payne creek 
or Hutchinson creek. It is our understanding, however, that 
the value of these holdings as real estate alone is such that they 
could be disposed of at a comparatively early date, regardless 
of whether the works are owned by the municipality or by a 
private company. 

Taking everything into account, it is our opinion that it 
would be desirable to purchase the entire plant of the New York 
Inter Urban Water Co and then later decide what, if any, por¬ 
tions can be disposed of after extensions are made to provide 
an adequate supply for the future needs of the city. 

PROPOSITION 5. 

Comparison of Municipally and Privately Owned Waterworks 

For Mount Vernon. 

This proposition can be best discussed by starting out with 
the assumption that it is theoretically possible for Mount Vernon 
to be furnished with a public water supply that is thoroughly 
satisfactory by means of works which may be owned either by 
the municipality or by a private water company. The advantages 
and disadvantages of each style of waterworks ownership can 
then be best set forth by a brief discussion and comparison of 
the leading features in the premises. 

It must also be assumed at the outset that in the future 
Mount Vernon will be supplied with water which is not only 
satisfactory in quality and in pressure as delivered to the con¬ 
sumers, but which is reasonable as to price. Judging from the 
general trend of municipal affairs and public utilities in this coun¬ 
try, the inclination for the great majority of American cities is to 
own their own public waterworks. This seems to be due partly 


29 


to a desire to reduce water rates where the source is satisfactory 
and partly to a wish to correct shortcomings in the service with¬ 
out delay. Sometimes it is due to a combination of the two, and 
in other instances to the desire to control without outside influ¬ 
ence a public utility which is so closely related to the comfort and 
health of the citizens. 

A disadvantage of municipally-owned waterworks, generally 
speaking, is that in many States it curtails the borrowing capacity 
of the municipality and causes a slower rate of development in 
certain public improvements, the cost of which is met through 
bond issue. In New York State this is not a factor, as the issuing 
of bonds upon municipally-owned waterworks does not modify 
the total bonded indebtedness which the municipality may legally 
incur. 

Originally a large portion of communities in America were 
supplied by privately-owned waterworks plants. Apparently this 
was to some extent due to the feeling that the ventures were 
somewhat hazardous and uncertain, with a consequent timidity 
upon the part of municipalities to venture upon this branch of 
“municipal trading.” 

Private water companies have not by any means earned so 
much money, generally speaking, as is thought by many citizens 
to have been the case. It is true, nevertheless, that water com¬ 
panies are conducted for the purpose of making profit on their 
investment, and that the rates of interest which they have to 
pay on the capital employed in their water works business is 
usually greater than that paid on municipal bonds issued by cities 
for water works improvements. Hence there is a tendency for 
water charges to be less with a municipality-owned plant than 
with a privately-owned plant, other things being equal. This 
does not hold true, however, in all instances, even where the 
service is substantially identical in character and extent. The 
question of water rates is filled with many peculiarities and 
irregularities, and the charges by municipally-owned plants are 
in many instances capable of much improvement from a busi¬ 
ness standpoint. Especially are published rates apt to be mis¬ 
leading unless it is known whether the plant is aided by taxes 
as to interest or sinking fund charges. 

At Mount Vernon the problem of a public water supply, to 
give satisfactory service, is one which requires for its solution a 
considerable expenditure of money at once, regardless of whether 
it is the municipality or a private company that expends the 
funds. The existing works are inadequate and must be extended. 

To do this through municipal ownership is entirely feasible 
without cramping the bonding capacity of the city for other 
improvements in any way. 

On the other hand, if the ownership is to continue with a 
private company, new extensions to the water works system 
mean that a new contract for a term of years, perhaps 30 years, 
for hydrant service for the city of Mount Vernon would have 
to be made. Such contract between the city of Mount Vernon 


30 


and the water company would provide no assurance that the 
water consumers may enjoy any reduction in water rate. In 
fact, there is no guarantee that the water rates may not be 
increased during the life of a new contract. If a long-term con¬ 
tract were made with the New York Inter Urban Water Co. 
by the city of Mount Vernon for hydrant service, such as would 
suffice in allowing needed securities to be issued by the company 
for increasing the water supply to meet present requirements of 
the city, it might be contended by some that it would still be a 
question of good faith and confidence as to whether the water 
company would for a long term of years give satisfactory service. 

The above lead to a reference to the mooted question of the 
comparative likelihood of a community suffering from lack of 
efficiency in the management of a privately-owned plant as dis¬ 
tinguished from a municipally owned plant. On the one hand 
private ownership may fail to meet requirements through inabil¬ 
ity to secure necessary contracts or legislation required for issuing 
bonds from time to time; and it is also within the limits of 
possibility that if a company had sufficient funds it would not 
provide a suitable management to take care of the works. On 
the other hand, it is claimed that some American cities allow 
politics to creep into the management of water works plants, 
with just as bad results as with the privately-owned property. 
The whole question is largely one of confidence and good faith 
to be determined by those most vitally interested. 

Since the expiration in December, 1908, of the contract 
between the city of Mount Vernon and the New York Inter 
Urban Water Co., the city is now under no contractual obliga¬ 
tion to the water company. As it appears to be the desire of 
the city to remain as an independent municipality, rather than 
to unite with neighboring communities, the present is clearly the 
time when a solution should be made of the question of municipal 
ownership. To allow this rapidly growing community to drift 
along without definite steps to provide for all its reasonable 
needs as to water supply for some years to come, seems to us 
to be inadmissible. 

Assuming that the city is properly officered with men who 
are capable of giving good management to a water works plant, 
then under this reasonable assumption there is no doubt that a 
municipally-owned water works system under the existing local 
conditions would be preferable to a continuance of private 
ownership. 

PROPOSITION 6. 

Comparison of Different Sources of Future Water Supply . 

This proposition involves a comparison of the relative ad¬ 
vantages and disadvantages of obtaining a future water supply 
for Mount Vernon, suitable in quality, quantity and pressure, 
from New York City, from the present works of the New York 
Inter Urban Water Co., supplemented by storage either on 
Mamaroneck river or on Byram river, and also from wells in 


3i 


Hutchinson creek valley, supplemented by water from New 
York City. 

From what has already been stated under Proposition 3, 
we may dismiss the well water project in Hutchinson creek 
valley on the ground that the available quantity is too small to 
constitute an important part of the future water supply for a 
community so large as the City of Mount Vernon. Whatever 
merit the well water project possesses is confined to emergency 
use. A water supply from New York City, as a regular pro¬ 
cedure, would be more economical and advantageous than would 
be a combined supply, partly from well water and partly from 
the supply of New York City. Taking all the evidence into ac¬ 
count, therefore, we dismiss the well water project from con¬ 
sideration as a regular part of the future water supply of 
Mount Vernon. 

A water supply ample in quantity and under satisfactory 
pressure could be obtained from the Catskill supply of New York 
City by tapping the Catskill aqueduct near the Bryn Mawr siphon, 
or by connection with the Hill View reservoir. Contracts pro¬ 
vide that Catskill water will be regularly available at the Bryn 
Mawr siphon and in the Catskill aqueduct near Hill View in 
December, 1913, and that the Hill View reservoir will be com¬ 
pleted in April, 1916. An ample supply as to quantity and pres¬ 
sure could also be obtained either from the Mamaroneck river 
or Byram river for the needs of Mount Vernon during the next 
25 or 30 years, when the population is assumed to reach about 
three times the present population. The estimates of the cost of 
constructing and operating the necessary works for obtaining 
the supply of Mount Vernon during the next generation from 
each of these three sources have been stated in some detail under 
Propositions 1 and 2. In the next table is given a summary of 
these estimated costs. 

We have included in these investment costs in each instance 
not only the new works necessary for providing, first, a 5-million 
gallon and later a 7.5 million gallon supply daily, but also the 
estimated cost of purchasing the existing water supply works of 
the New York Inter Urban Water Co., both the Mamaroneck 
station complete and the force main leading into the City of 
Mount Vernon, and also the plant at Pelhamville and the res¬ 
ervoirs on Tom Payne brook, with connecting pipe line to the 
Pelhamville plant. With either project developed, we believe 
that in a fairly short time the Pelhamville plant and Tom Payne 
reservoirs can be sold as real estate at the figures given in the 
following tabulation. This would mean that there would be a 
deduction sooner or later of some $300,000 from the total in¬ 
vestment needed for the development of the supply from each 
of the three sources given. We include this sum, first, because 
we believe it is wise for the city to take the entire property of 
the New York Inter Urban Water Co. rather than part or none 
of it, for the reasons given under Proposition 4. In the second 
place, we believe that the full list of costs should be here given, 


32 


partly with a view of giving full information to the taxpayers 
and partly to show the amount of the total bond issue which 
would have to be provided in the early future unless a prompt 
sale of the real estate at Pelhamville and on Tom Payne brook 
were definitely assured. In any event, the facts will be clearly 
understood with these explanations, and any modification that 
others may desire to make should be a comparatively simple 
matter. 

The precise language of your instructions refers specifically 
to a supply to the area within the city limits of Mount Vernon. 
It makes very little difference, as distinguished from supplying 
some of the other communities now furnished with water by the 
New York Inter Urban Water Co., whether the supply is taken 
from the Mamaroneck river or the Byram river. The pressure 
maintained by the pumps at the Mamaroneck pumping station 
would be adequate for Mount Vernon and for all other com¬ 
munities. As regards the New York City supply, however, a 
gravity flow from the Catskill aqueduct would maintain a pressure 
very similar to that now obtained when the present stand pipe 
is full. Friction through the pipe lines to the east of Mount 
Vernon would probably cause some shortages in pressure in 
those communities, and we have provided for an automatically- 
operated electric pump to boost the water at Mount Vernon, as 
needed, to provide adequate pressure east of Mount Vernon. 
This cost of this is so small that it does not affect the investment 
to any substantial degree. 

We are inclined to favor the furnishing of water by Mount 
Vernon to the other communities now supplied by the New York 
Inter Urban Water Co. In fact, if they were eliminated it would 
not effect much of a reduction in the investment cost to the 
City of Mount Vernon in providing for their own future re¬ 
quirements. And in the early years of a municipal plant for their 
own service there would be a considerable revenue derived from 
the sale of water to consumers at Pelham Heights, Harrison, 
Rye Neck, etc. This statement is true regardless of whether 
the City of Mount Vernon should prefer to sell water at retail 
to each consumer, or whether they would prefer to make arrange¬ 
ments to sell the outside piping system to each respective com¬ 
munity and then sell water by wholesale to each of the commu¬ 
nities. Ultimately the city of Mount Vernon could use its own 
supply for itself alone, or continue to deal with the other com¬ 
munities mentioned as it sees fit under the conditions existing 
in the future. We will not try to cross that bridge at this time. 


33 


TABLE 6. 


Summary of Estimated Investment Costs of Water Supply Works 
for Securing a 5-Million Gallon and 7.5-Million Gallon Daily 
Water Supply for Mount Vernon from Several Sources, 

From New York City : 5 M. Gals. 7.5 M. Gals. 

Purchase of Pelhamville plant.$ 300,000 $ 300,000 

Purchase Mamaroneck plant, including 

16-inch forcemain . 410,000 410,000 

Connection to Hill View Reservoir, in¬ 
cluding booster pump to provide 
pressure east of Mount Vernon... 80,000 160,000 


Totals ...$ 790,000 

From Mamaroneck River : 

Purchase of Pelhamville plant.$ 300,000 

Purchase of Mamaroneck plant, includ¬ 
ing 16-inch forcemain . 410,000 

Land and reservoirs, on Mamaroneck 

river . 550,102 

Additional pumps and filter equipment. 99,848 

24-inch forcemain to Mount Vernon.. 252,410 


$ 870,000 

$ 300,000 

410,000 

682,327 

175,448 

252,410 


Totals .$1,612,360 

From Byram River : 

Purchase of Pelhamville plant.$ 300,000 

Purchase of Mamaroneck plant, includ¬ 
ing 16-inch forcemain . 410,000 

Land and reservoirs, on Byram river... 397,436 

Pipe lines from By ram river to Mamar¬ 
oneck . 340,000 

Water rights and purchase from pres¬ 
ent owners . 400,000 

Forcemain from Mamaroneck to Mt. 

Vernon. 252,410 

Additions to Mamaroneck pumping sta¬ 
tion and filters. 99,848 

Land and reservoirs at Mamaroneck .. 100,000 


Totals .$2,299,694 $2,951,524 

The investment cost of an adequate water supply from the 
three sources under discussion varies quite considerably. The 
smallest cost is, of course, for the supply from New York City. 
This would be reduced to about $80,000 at the outset if no 
allowance were made for purchasing the supply works of the 
New York Inter Urban Water Co. As already stated, we 
think it is preferable to make such purchase because the city 
could probably realize from the sale of the Pelhamville and 
Tom Payne brook properties at an early date, and it is believed 
that the Mamaroneck pumping station and force main would be 


$1,820,185 

$ 300,000 

410,000 

651,666 

662,000 

400,000 

252,410 

175,448 

100,000 


34 






















a judicious investment, as the city would have to pay in all prob¬ 
ability a substantial sum on account of these holdings if only 
the pipe system in the city of Mount Vernon were purchased. 

A comparison of the investment cost does not constitute a 
fair comparison of the total cost and relative advantages of the 
three sources of supply. This is due, of course, to differences 
in maintenance charges. The fairest way is to make a compari¬ 
son of the annual fixed capital charges, comprising interest and 
sinking fund payments, together with the annual cost of opera¬ 
tion and maintenance. Adding these several items together, 
there is obtained a total annual expense of securing a water 
supply in varying quantities from each of the several sources 
under comparison. Such comparative estimates of the total cost 
per annum of the different sources of supply are given in the 
next table. This table shows, first, the annual fixed charges, 
which we have placed at 7^ per cent. This is in accordance 
with our interpretation of Paragraph 12 of Chapter 127 of the 
Laws of 1911, approved by the Governor on May 10, 1911, cre¬ 
ating a Board of Water Supply for the City of Mount Vernon 
and providing for municipal water works. In this paragraph it 
is stated that the bonds shall be for a term not exceeding 20 
years, and that a sinking fund shall be provided to create an 
amount equal to the principal of the bonds at their maturity. If 
payments into a sinking fund should draw interest at 4 per cent., 
it would be necessary to provide a sinking fund payment of 
about 3 1/3 per cent, per annum. Adding to this sinking fund 
payment a reasonable allowance for interest rate, we assume that 
7]/ 2 per cent, for fixed capital charges is as low a rate as is rea¬ 
sonable, and it may be found necessary to make these charges a 
little larger. 

In the operation of the water supply works, but not including 
the distribution system, the wages and salaries for employees 
would be substantially constant regardless of the amount of water 
sold either to Mount Vernon or to other communities. We have 
prepared estimates showing a reasonable allowance for such an 
operating staff as seems to us to be necessary and on the assump¬ 
tion that the operatives would work eight hours per day. 

The third item in the following table relates to the estimated 
cost of fuel, supplies for filtration and other items which would 
vary in a direct proportion with the amount of water delivered. 
Estimates for this have been made, based upon reasonable effi¬ 
ciency of pumps and filters, and at present prices for coal, chemi¬ 
cals and minor supplies. 

All of these items of annual expense are given for each of 
the different sources of supply on the basis that such supply 
per annum would average 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.5 million gallons daily, 
respectively. It will be noted that the fixed capital charges in- 
crease materially when the daily supply increases above 5 million 
gallons daily. This is due, of course, to the added investment 
necessary to increase the capacity of the works from 5 to 7.5 
million gallons daily, as shown in the preceding table. 


35 


TABLE 7. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost of Obtaining a Water Supply for Mount Vernon and Other Communi¬ 
ties Supplied by the New York Inter-Urban Water Co. from Different Sources and in Different 


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36 




























In studying the above table, attention is directed to the fact 
that with the purchase of water from New York City a large 
portion, from about 65 to about 80 per cent, of the total annual 
expenses would go to the City of New York for water payments. 
In the case of a supply obtained from the Mamaroneck river 
or from Byram river there would be no corresponding water 
payments to anyone outside of the municipality, although the 
payments into a sinking fund to retire the bonds at the end of 
20 years would be quite substantial. At the end of 20 years, 
however, in case the supply were obtained from New York City, 
Mount Vernon would not own the source of supply other than 
for some connecting pipes and possibly some residue unsold 
from the present works of the New York Inter Urban Water 
Co., but would have to continue to pay, according to the present 
law, $133 per million gallons for all water obtained. 

If Mount Vernon should own its own works, however, 
either on Mamaroneck river or on Byram river, it would pay for 
such investment, according to the figures above given, in 20 
years, because by law the fixed annual charges must be such to 
retire both principal and interest obligations on the outstanding 
bonds. In other words, the city of Mount Vernon would have 
the use of its investment in sources of water supply without 
added cost beyond the operating expenses at the end of 20 years, 
which is a much shorter period than the life of reservoirs and 
the main features of water supply works. 

The cost of water per million gallons delivered under pres¬ 
sure into the pipe system of Mount Vernon has become a con¬ 
venient local yardstick or means of measuring such cost. This 
is due in part to the price charged by the city of New York, 
namely, $133 per million gallons. In the following table the 
estimates of the last preceding table are shown in terms of the 
total estimated cost per million gallons of obtaining a water 
supply from the several sources, and when the amount of water 
ranges from a daily average of 3 millions to a daily average of 
7.5 millions. In studying this table it will be noted at once that 
the supply from New York City is rated at a cost considerably 
in excess of $133 per million gallons. This is due, of course, to 
the capital charges for purchasing the existing supply works of 
the New York Inter Urban Water Co. In a slight measure it 
is due to operating an electric pump to give adequate pressure 
east of the city of Mount Vernon. The capital charges of pur¬ 
chasing the existing works belong equally, of course, to the 
estimated costs of the Mamaroneck and Byram river supplies. 

The most striking feature about this table is that it shows 
the Mamaroneck river supply to be not only reasonable from the 
point of view of expense, when consideration is given to the 
difficulty of securing a water supply in Westchester county, but 
also on account of its being markedly cheaper than a water sup¬ 
ply obtained either from New York City or from the Byram 
river. 

It is true that these estimates involve, to a considerable 


37 


extent, estimates for the purchase of land and of property, upon 
which it is difficult to form close figures at this time. We be¬ 
lieve, however, that there is no opportunity for differences of 
opinion as to prices of land and present water supply works of 
the New York Inter Urban Water Co. to be sufficient to offset 
or materially to modify the following tabulation of costs, which 
indicate the Mamaroneck river supply to be decidedly the cheap¬ 
est source from which Mount Vernon can obtain its future water 
supply. 


TABLE 8. 

Estimated Total Cost per Million Gallons of Obtaining a Water 
Supply for Mount Vernon and Other Communities Supplied 
by the New York Inter-Urban Water Co. from Different 
Sources and in Different Quantities. 


Daily Supply, 

N. Y. City 

Mamar’ck River 

Byram River 

Mil. Gals. 

Supply. 

Supply. 

Supply. 

3.0 

$192 

$135 

$182 

4.0 

178 

103 

138 

5.0 

170 

85 

113 

6.0 

167 

79 

118 

7.5 

161 

66 

97 

The data above given have been prepared 

on the basis of 


equality as to the several sources of supply in the matter of 
quantity and pressure. As to quality, we also consider them as 
substantially equal on the basis of careful patrolling and inspec¬ 
tions of the watersheds, such as would preclude gross pollution. 
Minor pollution, discoloration due to vegetable matter and mud 
following heavy rains, would be effectively eliminated by a mod¬ 
ern filtration plant, carefully built and carefully operated. In 
fact, a sterilization plant could be operated to supplement the 
works of a filter plant if desired. 

We are aware that the Byram river watershed is now more 
sparsely populated than is that of Mamaroneck river. This is 
of some advantage, but we do not know whether in another State 
the city of Mount Vernon could control the pollution from a 
growing population as effectively as it could from the Mama¬ 
roneck watershed. There is no difference in the quality of water 
from these two rivers that cannot be overcome uniformly and 
reliably by means of filtration and sterilization. Hence we do 
not consider that there is sufficient advantage to Byram river as 
a source of the future water supply of Mount Vernon to be com¬ 
mensurate with its increased cost. In concluding this subject, 
therefore, it is our advice that the best step for the City of 
Mount Vernon to take would be to obtain its future water supply 
from the Mamaroneck river in conjunction with the existing 
supply works of the New York Inter Urban Water Co. 


38 


PROPOSITION 7. 


Distributing Pipe System. 

This proposition takes up the preparation of the design for 
a complete new distributing system within the city limits of 
Mount Vernon to serve the needs of the city at present and in 
the early future, and an estimate of the cost of the same. We 
have conceived this on broad lines of having pipes of sufficient 
size to provide satisfactory water pressure for domestic use and 
to give good fire service from a modern standpoint. In fact, 
it has been our purpose in the new design to eliminate all 4-inch 
pipe and to make the sizes such that in later years it will be 
necessary, as the population of the city grows, simply to extend 
the pipes in streets not now built upon and not to parallel the 
pipes shown to be required at present. 

We have prepared an estimate of the cost of replacing the 
existing piping system of the New York Inter Urban Water Co. 
and of such additional pipes as would be needed to reinforcec 
the existing system to bring it up to the service afforded by the 
proposed new system. 

A comparison is also given of the cost of the proposed new 
system and of the reinforced existing system, with a view to 
arriving at the present worth of the existing system, after making 
due allowance for the depreciation in the existing pipes due to 
the wear and tear incident to their use during an average life of 
about 15 years. 

In accordance with your instructions and for the sake of 
recording with completeness the present property of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Co., we have also included a summary 
of the piping system used for purposes of distribution by this 
water company in communities outside of the City of Mount 
Vernon. 

In the following tables a concise statement is given of our 
findings on the questions above stated, and upon the accompany¬ 
ing maps will be found on sheets Nos. 4, 5 and 6, the location 
and size of the water pipes owned by the New York Inter Urban 
Water Co. outside of Mount Vernon. Sheet No. 3 shows the 
design which we have prepared for the proposed new system 
of distributing pipes in Mount Vernon. In preparing these esti¬ 
mates of cost we have taken current market prices for labor and 
materials. We have availed ourselves of all the local information 
that we could secure through the aid of the city officials in the 
matter of rock excavation and underground obstructions which 
would be encountered in the streets of Mount Vernon under the 
conditions now existing. We have also secured from official 
records, and checked up the same on the ground, the kind and 
extent of paving and road surfacing in general which would have 
to be disturbed in constructing new pipe lines. All of these 
estimates of cost have been discussed with you and are on file 
in detail in our office for future reference. We have not con¬ 
sidered it expedient, however, to give them in full detail at this 


39 


time, prior to the determination by the city of the procedure they 
propose to adopt in supplying the citizens of Mount Vernon with 
an adequate and satisfactory water supply for future needs. 

One other point is to be recorded at the outset of this report 
on the pipe proposition, and that is that it is assumed that the 
future water supply for Mount Vernon will come from the east 
of the city and enter along the route of the force main of the 
Pelhamville pumping station. In other words, the pipes are 
largest in the eastern limits of the city and taper downward 
progressively towards the western limits. Should a supply be 
taken from New York City, the relative dimensions of the pipe 
from east to- west would, of course, be reversed. 

Proposed New Distribution System. 

On sheet No. 3 is shown a design that we have prepared 
for a new system of distributing pipes to serve the needs of 
the city at present and in the early future, as above stated. This 
system of pipes aggregates about 64 miles in length, which is sub¬ 
stantially the same in extent as that of the present pipe system 
of the water company. This proposed system would contain 
about two miles of pipes as large or larger than the present 
16-inch forcemain of the Pelhamville station. No 4-inch pipe 
would be used, as the smallest diameter is six inches. The 
system would be well cross-connected, so as to eliminate so far 
as practicable the present difficulties from low pressure due to 
the friction losses through long lines of small pipe. As will be 
noted from Sheet No. 3, comparatively large lines of pipe are 
interspersed in such a manner as to reduce to reasonable limits 
the length of flow of water through small pipes on its way to 
the various consumers. Fire service has especially been kept 
in mind in providing for the new design, and hydrants have been 
provided, spaced about 300 feet apart in the business district 
and about 500 feet apart in the residential district, as with the 
present pipes. 

In addition to the ordinary domestic service we have as¬ 
sumed that in the business district the pipe system should provide 
for at least 15 fire streams at any one point, and in the residential 
district 10 fire streams at any one point. 

We consider fire provisions are adequately met by the pipe 
sizes shown, although it is true that a somewhat higher pressure 
should be uniformly maintained than has recently existed, par¬ 
ticularly at times of fires. We have assumed that at no time 
should the pressure become appreciably less than that corres¬ 
ponding to the full height of water in the existing stand pipe. 
In fact, it would be preferable to increase this pressure some¬ 
what, in order to give satisfactory service at all times in the 
residential district. In the business district, in the vicinity of 
the railroad station the static head would be about 50 pounds, 
and this would decrease on the higher ground in the vicinity 
of North Tenth street to a minimum static head of about 35 


40 


pounds. At times of fire in the higher district we have assumed, 
of course, that adequate steamer service would be provided. 

Table 9 shows the length of each size of pipe which is pro¬ 
posed for the new distributing system, according to the plan shown 
on Sheet No. 3. The table also shows the number of valves which 
would be placed on each size of pipe. The appurtenances of the 
proposed new pipe system would be substantially the same as in 
the present system as to number of meters, hydrants and service 
connections. 


TABLE 9. 

Length and Size of Pipes and Numbers and Sizes of Valves For 
the Proposed New Distribution System. 


Size. 

Pipe Length 

Number of 

in Feet. 

Gate Valves. 

6-inch 

212,040 

1,034 

8-inch 

79,000 

115 

10-inch 

32,500 

31 

12-inch 

5,450 

8 

16-inch 

4,320 

2 

24-inch 

2,540 

1 

30-inch 

3,400 

1 


Totals . 339,250 1,192 


We have estimated that at current prices of labor and mate¬ 
rials this new system of distributing pipes could be put in place 
with hydrants, meters, service connections, repairs to paving, 
supervision, inspection and contingencies for the sum of $717,898. 
It should be added that this figure does not provide for building 
complete new service pipes, which are now owned by the con¬ 
sumers. But it does provide for disconnecting the existing ser¬ 
vice pipes from the old pipes and for a reconnecting of them to 
the new street mains. 

The Present Pipmg System of Mount Vernon. 

A substantial outline has already been given in the early 
pages of this report of the pipe system which gradually has been 
built during a period of nearly 30 years, although the average life 
of the system as a whole is barely 15 years. As pipe systems go 
in communities that grow rapidly, this pipe system compares quite 
favorably with those found elsewhere as to its general arrange¬ 
ment. Notwithstanding this, the present pipe system has quite 
marked faults now, due to the installation until quite recently of 
4-inch pipe lines in residential districts, particularly where there 
were but few connections with larger pipes. In the busness dis¬ 
trict, also, the pipe sizes are small, as viewed in the light of the 


4i 




requirements which the present density of population demands 
from the water system, both for domestic service and fire service. 

Table 10 shows the length of pipe of each size in the present 
system and also the number of valves of each size. The number 
of hydrants now in use is 633 and this number is considered suffi¬ 
cient for the proposed new system. Attention is also called to the 
fact that the valves on the existing pipe system aggregate only 
797, or 395 less than those shown in the design for the new sys¬ 
tem. The number of service connections, 5,419, and the number 
of meters, 4,735, correspond to those now in existence and aggre¬ 
gate the same as shown for the proposed new system. 

TABLE 10. 

Length and Size of Pipe and Number and Size of Valves of 
Existing Distribution System. 


Size. 

Pipe Length 
in Feet. 

Number of 
Gate Valves. 

4-inch 

52,980 

220 

6-inch 

204,421 

481 

8-inch 

17,048 

23 

10-inch 

38,121 

62 

12-inch 

2,439 

7 

16-inch 

7,090 

4 


322,099 

797 


We have prepared estimates of cost at the same unit prices 
for labor and materials for building the existing pipe system as 
we used in obtaining the figures in Table 9 for the proposed new 
system. In this manner we have obtained the sum of $593,578 as 
the replacement cost of the present pipe system in Mount Vernon. 


Depreciation of Existing Pipe System. 

We have figured the depreciation of the existing piping sys¬ 
tem due to its wear and tear by use to be $37,933. The principal 
item is, of course, the depreciation of the street mains which now 
have an average life of about 15 years and which are assumed 
to be capable of giving reasonable service, so far as depreciation 
of metal is concerned, for 100 years. This does not make any 
allowance for the destruction of the pipe by electrolysis. Neither 
does it make any allowance for depreciation due to the pipe sys¬ 
tem becoming inadequate in size or unsuitable for the service 
demanded of it. That question is taken up under the head of 
“Functional Depreciation.” We have taken the average useful 
life of gate valves and hydrants to be 60 years, and of meters 35 
years. 


42 



Reinforcing Pipes. 

Your instructions provide that we shall prepare an estimate 
of the cost of laying additional pipes to reinforce the existing pipe 
system so as to bring it up to the service afforded by the proposed 
new system. We have given this matter careful study and find 
that it will take nearly 20 miles. Nearly two miles of these rein¬ 
forcing pipes would be 16 inches in diameter or greater, consti¬ 
tuting the main feeders. All dead ends in the existing pipes 
would be eliminated and 6-inch pipes placed on all streets now 
provided with 4-inch pipes. Intermediate sizes of pipe would 
be used for cross-connecting with the main feeders those streets 
to be provided with parallel lines of new 6-inch and old 4-inch 
pipes. 

Table 11 shows the length of pipe of each size and the num¬ 
ber of gate valves of each size which would be used on these 
reinforcing pipe lines. 


TABLE 11. 

Length and Size of Pipe and Number and Size of Valves on Rein¬ 
forcing Pipe Lines. 


Size. 

Pipe Length 

Number of 

in Feet. 

Gate Valves. 

6-inch 

55,200 

615 

8-inch 

25,400 

45 

10-inch 

13,330 

15 

12-inch 

1,950 

4 

16-inch 

4,000 

5 

20-inch 

2,250 

1 

24-inch 

3,450 

3 


105,580 

688 


At the same unit prices for labor and materials as used in 
making the estimates for the proposed new system and for the 
replacement of the existing system we estimate that these rein¬ 
forcing pipes would cost, complete, about $199,924. This sum 
includes rock excavation, repairs to street surfaces, an allowance 
for disconnecting about 1,500 of the existing service connections 
and reconnecting them to the new pipes, and replacing the present 
4-inch hydrants, valves and connections with 6-inch hydrants. 

Functional Depreciation of Present Piping System. 

This item deals with a comparison of the reinforced present 
piping system with the proposed new system, with a view to 
ascertaining what the value is of the present pipe system as it 
stands, measured by the saving which it would allow in the con¬ 
struction of a modern up-to-date distribution system. As the 
expression implies, it deals with the lessened value of the present 


43 



pipe system, due to the small size of pipe and the fact that con¬ 
siderable expenditure is necessary sooner or later in order to 
bring the present system up to the standard of service that would 
be afforded by a new system. 

By adding together the present replacement cost of the 
existing pipe system and the estimated cost of new reinforcing 
pipes, there is obtained the sum of $793,502. By subtracting 
from this sum the estimated cost of building the proposed new 
system there is obtained a difference of $75,604. This sum 
could scarcely be construed as the reduced value of the present 
pipe system on account of its small size for several reasons. In 
the first place, it would provide in the residential districts one 
6-inch and one 4-inch pipe on streets where the new system 
would have only a 6-inch pipe. These duplicate mains may not 
have greater value as compared with a new 6-inch line, from 
the standpoint of adding revenue to the water works property, 
but nevertheless they possess potential advantages which are en¬ 
titled to consideration. In some cities the conditions are such 
that duplicate pipe would save the scraping of pipes to clean 
out deposits of rust or tubercles. While we have not yet had 
opportunity to examine carefully the interior condition of these 
pipes, we believe from our general experience with the surface 
water in this section of the country that pipe cleaning is not 
necessary with a filtered surface water supply, such as Mount 
Vernon now receives and where pipes are well flushed to remove 
accumulations entering the pipes in earlier years. 

Another item for our consideration is that the reinforce- 
ing need not be done in its entirety within the next few years, 
although perhaps half of the cost for reinforcing pipes should 
be expended promptly. The remainder may be added piece¬ 
meal as the population grows. In this way a considerable item 
of saving in the interest on the investment would accrue to the 
benefit of the reinforced present pipe system, as compared with 
the proposed new system. 

In operating expenses it would be a simpler matter to con¬ 
tinue with the present piping system than it would to operate 
the water works during a period of change from the existing 
pipes to the proposed new pipes. This saving relates not only to 
labor expended in the maintenance of the pipe system, but also 
to operating expenses at the pumping station with respect to 
the income during days when there would be but few customers 
to be supplied from the new system. 

Another feature of importance is the inconvenience to the 
community and the individual water consumers incident to the 
changing of the house service connections, digging up the streets, 
interruptions in water service, and disturbances to the flow of 
water through the mains. 

Taking into account all of these several items accruing to 
the credit of the existing piping system as compared with the 
proposed new piping system, we place the functional depreciation 
of the present piping system at $50,000. 


44 


Present Value of the Existing Piping System. 

From the foregoing data it appears from our estimates that 
the replacement cost of the existing piping system would be 
$593,578. We deduct from this the estimated depreciation of 
the present piping system due to wear and tear, $37,933, and 
also our estimate of the functional depreciation due to the small 
size of the present piping system, of $50,000. The remaining 
sum of $505,645 is our finding as to the present value of the 
piping system of the New York Inter Urban Water Co. within 
the city limits of Mount Vernon. 

Outside Piping. 

The estimate above given for the piping owned by the New 
York Inter Urban Water Co. does not include the force main 
from the Mamaroneck station to the Pelhamville pumping sta¬ 
tion, as that is included in the value of the Mamaroneck system. 

No value is here placed upon the 16-inch pipe line of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Co. leading to the Metz reservoir be¬ 
yond the city limits of Mount Vernon, as it would be of no service 
to the City of Mount Vernon. There is no doubt, however, that 
this portion of this pipe line as shown on Sheet No. 2 of the 
accompanying maps, must have cost at least $75,000. What its 
salvage might be from the sale to the Consolidated Water Co. 
of Suburban, N. Y., or to others is a question on which we are 
not advised. 

We have made a careful examination as to the extent of the 
distributing pipes in other communities around Mount Vernon 
which are owned by the New York Inter Urban Water Co. and 
used by them in furnishing hydrant service and water to the 
residents of Rye, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Pelham, etc. We find 
that the water company has no contract's with these communities 
except with the village of Rye, with which a contract was made 
on July 29, 1909, for hydrant service for a period of five years, 
and an option for ten years at the stated rates. 

The following table shows the length of each size of pipe 
in the different communities, and the number of meters, gate 
valves and hydrants. This table also shows the estimated cost 
of replacing each of these piping systems with repairs and re¬ 
placements of the brick, asphalt, and macadam pavements over 
the pipes, as well as the estimated present value of these struc¬ 
tures after making deductions for the estimated depreciation. 
At the bottom of Table 12 will be found a sum representing our 
estimate of the total value of all of these outside pipe lines, with 
appurtenances, but exclusive of the 16-inch line to the Metz res¬ 
ervoir, on which comment is made above. 


45 


TABLE 12. 


Schedule of Piping of New York Inter Urban Water Co. Outside 
of Mount Vernon, with Estimate of Replacement Cost and 
Present Value. 


Town of Mamaroneck: 



Cost. 

Depreciation. 

Present Val. 

125 ft. 4-in. pipe ) 
19,621 ft. 6-in. pipe \ 

..$16,338.16 

$676.40 

$15,661.76 

578 ft. 10-in. pipe ( 



14 4-in. valves ) 

47 6-in. valves 

974.46 

111.09 

863.37 

1 10-in. valve ( 




14 4-in. hydrants ) 

13 6-in. hydrants j ' 

929.50 

105.96 

823.54 

Macadam paving ..., 

.. 4,032.64 

0. 

4,032.64 

Rock.. 

.. 8,295.95 

0 . 

8,295.95 


$29,677.26 


Village of Mamaroneck: 

Cost. 

7,590 ft. 3-in. pipe\ 

2,123 ft. 4-in. pipe I 
1,600 ft. 5-in. pipe f 
74,851 ft. 6-in. pipe \ $85,811.15 
2,746 ft. 8-in. pipe! 

7,061 ft. 10-in. pipei 
4,650 ft. 12-in. pipe/ 

7 3-in. valves \ 

47 4-in. valves j 

1 5-in. valve f 

189 6-in. valves \ . 4,274.83 

6 8-in. valves i 
9 10-in. valves 1 

2 12-in. valves/ 


Macadam paving . 20,956.57 

Brick paving . 4,371.61 

Rock paving ........ 40,945.82 


Depreciation. Present Val. 


$2,201.20 $83,609.95 


206.13 4,068.70 


154.22 3,984.68 

0. 20,956.57 

0. 4,371.61 

0. 40,945.82 


$157,937.33 


46 











Village of Rye : 

47 ft. 4-in. pipe^ 
6-in. pipe / 
8-in. pipe 
4,635 ft. 10-in. pipe | 
3,510 ft. 12-in. pipe, 
4-in. valves \ 

6-in. valves / 


9,148 ft. 
21,540 ft. 


6 

76 


Cost. 


$41,858.64 


Depreciation. Present Val. 
$143.42 $41,715.22 


16 8-in. valves V. 

. 1,941.05 

14.16 

1,926.89 

5 10-in. valves l 

2 12-in. valves j 




5 4-in. hydrants \ 

67 6-in. hydrants f ‘ * ‘ 

. 2,913.55 

21.18 

2,892.37 

Macadam paving .... 

. 9,344.34 

0. 

9,344.34 

Tar Paving . 

. 2,066.39 

0. 

2,066.39 

Rock . 

. 20,518.16 

0. 

20,518.16 




$78,463.37 

Town of Rye: 

Cost. 

Depreciation. 

Present Val. 

74 ft. 4-in. pipe I 
5,875 ft. 6-in. pipe j 

.$ 4,679.19 

$ 69.13 

$ 4,610.06 

2 6-in. valves ) 

102.60 

3.83 

98.77 

6 4-in. valves f 


6 4-in. hydrants ..... 

167.70 

6.70 

161.00 

Macadam paving . .. 

. 1,419.28 

0. 

1,419.28 

Rock . 

. 2,803.83 

0. 

2,803.83 




$9,092.94 

Tozvn of Harrison : 




850 ft. 3-in. pipe\ 
190 ft. 3.5-in. pipe I 

Cost. 

Depreciation. 

Present Val. 

1,875 ft. 4-in. pipe/ 




28,648 ft. 6-in. pipe 1 
5,078 ft. 8-in. pipe 1 ^ 
3,700 ft. 10-in. pipe j 

$42,908.05 

$713.21 

$42,194.84 

4,855 ft. 12-in. pipe ; 
12 4-in. valves \ 

88 6-in. valves / 




5 8-in. valves > .... 

4 10-in. valves i 

3 12-in. valves j 

, 1,963.20 

66.36 

1,896.84 

8 4-in. hydrants) 

39 6-in. hydrants f *' 

. 1,852.60 

60.22 

1,792.38 

Macadam pavement . 

. 9,615.90 

0 . 

9,615.90 

Brick pavement. 

. 4,183.24 

0 . 

4,183.24 

Rock . 

. 20,687.10 

0 . 

20,687.10 


$80,370.30 


47 















Tozvn of East Chester : 

Cost. 

2,425 ft. 6-in. pipe ...$ 1,913.33 


7 6-in. valves . 116,34 

Macadam paving. 759.06 

Rock. 5,659.68 


Town of Scars dale: 

Cost. 


567 ft. 6-in. pipe | $ 

1,347 ft. 10-in. pipej* 


2,272.55 


1 6-in. valve ? 

1 10-in. valve f 


Macadam paving. 499.92 

Rock . 736.32 


City of New Rochelle : 

2 6-in. valves j 

1 8-in. valve '.$ 

1 12-in. valve ') 


Cost. 

96.26 


Depreciation. 

Present Val. 

$ 13.58 

$ 1,899.75 

2.21 

114.13 

0 . 

759.06 

0 . 

5,659.68 


$8,432.62 

Depreciation. 

Present Val. 

$ 4.20 

$ 2,268.35 

0.29 

47.96 

0 . 

499.92 

0 . 

736.32 


$3,552.55 

Depreciation. 

Present Val. 

.$ 7.71 

$ 88.55 


Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights ): 


18,335 ft. 4-in. 


Cost. Depreciation. Present Val. 


8,147 ft. 6-in. pipe 

>$20,534.30 

$547.74 

$19,986.56 

2,400 ft. 10-in. pipe) 

28 4-in. valves) 

12 6-in. valves >. 

617.90 

106.20 

511.70 

3 10-in. valves 1 

25 4-in. hydrants ... 

698.75 

51.25 

638.50 

Macadam paving .. .. 

.. 6,681.12 

0. 

6,681.12 

Rock . 

.. 5,927.06 

0. 

5,927.06 

Village of Pelham Manor : 

Cost. 

Depreciation. 

$33,744.94 

Present Val. 

1,547 ft. 6-in. pipe... 

.$ 1,220.58 

$ 11.72 

$ 1,208.86 

1 6-in. valve. 

16.62 

0.43 

16.19 

Macadam paving .... 

369.40 

0. 

369.40 

Rock. 

524.37 

0. 

524.37 


$2,118.82 


48 



















Village of North Pelham : 


Cost. Depreciation. Present Val. 
5 6-in. valves.$ 83.10 $ 2.15 $ 80.95 


Present Value of Suburban Pipe Systems. 


Municipality. 

Present Value. 

Mamaroneck (Town) . 

.$ 29,677 

Mamaroneck (Village) . 

. 157,937 

Rye (Village) . 

. 78,463 

Rye (Town) . 

. 9,093 

Harrison (Town) . 

. 80,370 

East Chester (Town). 

. 8,433 

Scarsdale (Town) . 

. 3,553 

New Rochelle (City) . 

. 89 

Pelham (Village) . 

. 33,745 

Pelham Manor (Village). 

. 2,119 

North Pelham (VillageJ . 

. 81 


Total .$403,560 


SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 

Our findings and conclusions as to providing the City of 
Mount Vernon with a water supply suitable in quality and ade¬ 
quate in quantity and pressure for the next 25 or 30 years may be 
briefly summed up as follows: 

1. The City of Mount Vernon now uses on an average 
about 2.5 million gallons of water daily, and should make provi¬ 
sion at as early a date as practicable, in view of the recent water 
shortages, for a supply of about 5 million gallons daily, capable 
of ultimate development to at least 7.5 million gallons daily. 

2. The contract between the City of Mount Vernon and the 
New York Inter Urban Water Co. having expired, we see no 
likelihood of the City of Mount Vernon being able to renew that 
contract under terms which would be advantageous to itself, and 
which at the same time would enable the present water company 
to take prompt and adequate steps to prevent recurrences of 
recent water shortages. 

3. As a first step towards securing an adequate water sup¬ 
ply for the city, we recommend, without qualification, that the 
City of Mount Vernon acquire title to the property of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Co. That is to say, we are in favor of 
the needs of the urgent local water supply problem being pro¬ 
vided for by a municipal plant, rather than one privately owned. 

4. We are opposed to the proposition of building a new pipe 
system in the City of Mount Vernon and proceeding to ignore 


49 
















the present water company, for reasons stated at length under 
Proposition 4. 

5. We recommend that the city, by purchase or condemna¬ 
tion, obtain the entire property of the New York Inter Urban 
Water Co., on the ground that such portions as are not needed 
could probably be disposed of to advantage, and that, in our opin¬ 
ion, the total investment, in proportion to the property obtained, 
would be better by purchasing the entire plant than would be the 
case if purchase were made of only those portions immediately 
serviceable to the City of Mount Vernon. 

6. During a large portion of the next 25 or 30 years it will 
be perfectly feasible for Mount Vernon to supply Mamaroneck, 
Harrison, Rye Neck, Pelham Heights, etc., with water; but if 
these other communities should grow very rapidly the day will 
come ultimately when it will be necessary for them to obtain 
water from sources other than the project herein recommended. 
That matter can be definitely settled later on, but we are convinced 
that for a time it would be desirable for the City of Mount Ver¬ 
non, if the laws permit, to receive the benefit from the income 
to be derived from the sale of water to these outside com¬ 
munities. 

7. We find that the amount of water which may be secured 
from wells in Hutchinson creek valley is too small to receive 
serious consideration other than for emergency use. 

8. Water could be secured from the Catskill aqueduct of 
New York City in the autumn of 1913 or later, but before that 
time New York City has no water to spare. The unit price to 
be paid the city of New York for water is much in excess of the 
cost to Mount Vernon of securing its own supply from the 
works now owned by the New York Inter Urban Water Co., 
supplemented by storage to the east of Mount Vernon. Further¬ 
more, if water were obtained from New York City, the city of 
Mount Vernon would have no supply works of its own, whereas 
the costs shown for a supply from storage reservoirs owned by 
the city of Mount Vernon include sinking fund charges to retire 
the bonds in 20 years. After this period the expenses for opera¬ 
tion would be the only cost for supply works municipally owned. 

9. The Mamaroneck river furnishes the best source for the 
future water supply of Mount Vernon. This supply is the cheap¬ 
est and would be adquate in quantity and pressure, with works 
that are properly constructed and operated. The quality of 
water, with proper patrolling of the watershed and carefully 
operated modern filtration works, should be thoroughly satis¬ 
factory. 

10. Water from Byram river would also be satisfactory in 
every way, except as to expense. The distance of this Connecti¬ 
cut watershed from Mount Vernon makes its expense far exceed 


So 


the advantage which it might possess over the Mamaroneck 
watershed, due to the population on its watershed now being 
more sparse. 

11. Our findings, as shown by the proceeding estimates in 
this report as to the value of the physical property of the New 
York Inter Urban Water Co., are as follows: 


Pelhamville property.$300,000 

Mamaroneck property. 410,000 

Mount Vernon pipe system. 505,645 

Outside pipe system. 403,559 


Total .$1,619,204 


The above figures, in our judgment, represent reasonable 
allowances for replacement cost, and depreciation on the basis of 
current market prices for labor and material. They include con¬ 
tractor’s profits and allowances for legal expenses, administra¬ 
tive expenses, engineering, inspection, contingencies, etc. They 
do not allow for “interest during construction.” It would take 
at least two years to build these works, with expeditious manage¬ 
ment and with favorable progress made by the contractors. 
Monthly payments on account to the contractors would have to 
be made, and it is reasonable to assume that such interest charges 
as are allowed by the courts in water works valuations would 
aggregate about one year’s interest on the entire cost, as above 
estimated. This interest allowance should be added to the sum 
above given. 

12. The New York Inter Urban Water Co. has no franchise 
of value. But it has a built-up business which is entitled to 
consideration, acording to the decisions of the courts during the 
past dozen years. This cost of reproducing the established busi¬ 
ness of a concern is spoken of as “going value,” and is comparable 
in some ways to the “good will” of a mercantile establishment. It 
is predicated on the assumption (allowed by the courts) that a 
mere physical plant upon its completion is not equal in value to 
a plant with its business established. The reason of this is that 
on the reproductive theory there would be losses of net income 
to the new or reproduced plant as compared with the income of 
the works already established during the period necessary for a 
new plant to build up its business to the level of the existing 
plant. We have given considerable thought to the question of 
going value as applied to the property of the New York Inter 
Urban Water Co. It is not necessary here to give details of the 
proposition, which has a number of uncertainties as to its scope 
and size. It is sufficient to say that courts and appraisal boards 
usually make an allowance for going value of from 10 to 20 per 
cent, of the physical value of the property. The local water works 
property is not, in our opinion, one to have an unusually high 


5i 








going value assigned to it, for a number of reasons. Among them 
may be mentioned the fact that it is difficult for citizens to get 
water from wells in this district, and consumers may be reasonably 
expected to avail themselves of an opportunity to connect with 
a new water works plant with a greater degree of promptness 
than would be the case in many places elsewhere. For this and 
other reasons the period necessary for reproducing the present 
volume of business would be shorter than in many cases else¬ 
where, with the result that a reasonable estimate for “going 
value” would, in our opinion, be below rather than above the 
average, as found for water plants elsewhere, when expressed 
with reference to the size of the plant and volume of business. 
To the items above tabulated it would be necessary to add both 
the interest during construction and the “going value.” 

13. On the basis of acquiring the present property of the 
New York Inter Urban Water Co., as a first step towards securing 
an ample and satisfactory future water supply to the city, it 
would, of course, be necessary to provide further funds for the 
development of water by storage on the Mamaroneck River, as 
recommended. It will be noted that the development of a 5-mil¬ 
lion gallon supply equal to about double the present consumption, 
as shown by the summary of Table 6, provides for an investment 
in the new water supply works of about $902,360. To this should 
also be added the sum of $100,000, for necessary improvements 
to the pipe system in Mount Vernon at an early date. From the, 
aggregate of these sums there could be deducted the proceeds 
from the sale of real estate of the Pelhamville plant and the 
reservoirs on Tom Payne Brook. If desired, there could be 
eliminated the item of $403,559, which is the estimated cost of 
purchasing the present piping system of the New York Inter 
Urban Water Co. outside of the city of Mount Vernon. This 
item involves a study of the net income which could be obtained 
from these outside communities, if Mount Vernon should de¬ 
cide to purchase the outside piping. 

In conclusion we may say that these costs, while in excess 
of the investments required for some communities of the size of 
Mount Vernon with its surrounding towns, seem to us to be rea¬ 
sonable, under the existing local conditions. We have not studied 
in detail all of the expenses in distributing the water to the con¬ 
sumers (maintenance of distributing pipes and meters, accounting 
and collection of bills) nor the income to be expected, but we have 
looked into the matter sufficiently to indicate that a good reliable 
water supply may be obtained with a reasonable schedule of “wa¬ 
ter rents.” In any event, we see no means of proceeding so ad¬ 
vantageously in securing proper water service for the city of 
Mount Vernon as by carrying out the recommendations herein 
made. 

Very truly yours, 

GEORGE W. FULLER. 


52 










































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